The Dance of Death
by X'andirth
Summary: Harry wished for a way out of time where he could forget the prophecy and all that came with it. Unfortunately, he got his wish. Post OotP AU More Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**The Dance of Death**

**  
Summary: **Harry wished for a way out of time where he could forget the prophecy and all that came with it. Unfortunately, he got his wish.

Now he's in the middle of a medieval war helping in a plot to overthrow an evil king. Alongside his nervous teenage ancestral grandfather of Merlin knows how many greats, a Knight with serious Damsel issues, a Damsel with serious everybody issues, and a demon with serious thrill issues.

It's up to them to save the kingdom from eternal damnation and despair. That is, if they can save themselves from each other.

But every cloud has a silver lining, right? Right?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything that is already vouched for. Everything else on the other hand... . They're all mine, mine I say, MINE!!!

**Author's Note: **Ok folks, this is my renewed attempt at another story which I might be able to keep and interest in and complete. I have planned a skeleton of the main points of what happens, from start to finish with some occasional ideas and details thrown in. Now I just have to write it all out for you all.

Hope you enjoy it.

Please Review to let me know if you like it. (I tend to write more and faster when I get reviews. !Hint Hint! )

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**Chapter One**

Harry's head pounded, his ears rang, muscles and bones ached, he felt as though he had been taken apart and put back together again, badly. Beyond the ringing he could hear soft voices, both male and female. His mind began to sluggishly panic as he tried to move to discover that nothing would respond to his brain's commands. He couldn't suppress a groan which tore its way out of his raw throat.

"He's awake" A voice announced. The other voices stopped suddenly, and Harry heard several footsteps move over to him. Muscles tensed painfully as Harry tried to move again. Then someone grabbed him under his arms and lift him into a sitting position.

"Careful" the same voice which had spoked earlier muttered.

"I got him" Answered another from behind Harry. He assumed it was the one who was holding him up. He groaned again and struggled to open his eyes.

"Give us that," said the first voice and then something was pressed to his lips.

"Here drink this."

Harry wanted to demand to know what it was first but he couldn't talk. He felt the object move and he tasted cold water. He drank eagerly, still trying to open his eyes. The water was pulled away and Harry coughed once, feeling his raw throat ease slightly. Finally he managed to open his eyes and struggled to bring a blackish blurry object into focus. His glasses were missing.

"Oh wait, uh, here, you had... these, um..." The voice trailed off and he felt his glasses pushed into his hands. He quickly pulled them on and everything came into better focus. Before him was a young man, who appeared to be not much older than he was. His hair was black and despite the fact that it was pulled back into a pony tail it still managed to be messy. The figures eyes were dark as the only light came from a small campfire nearby and the moon above. The man's face was filled with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity.

"Are you going to be steady on your own now?" Asked the voice behind him and Harry turned his head to see the person that was supporting him was a brown haired, muscular man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Harry replied. The man nodded and released him, Harry shifting so he was better balanced, he then looked around to see a black haired woman, watching him with a stern, hard face, from the other side of the fire, and stretched out under a nearby tree another man with shoulder length hair that appeared to be auburn, this man watched Harry carelessly, as though Harry was something not very interesting but more interesting than anything else in sight

"Are you alright?" Asked the man in front of Harry. Harry turned to look at him, "Only there was a loud bang and a brilliant flash of light, and then you were just there. You came out of nowhere."

"I think so." Harry replied stiffly. His brain struggled to work out what in the name of Merlin had happened. He remembered pacing furiously outside the Room of Requirement, despereately hoping for a way out of his situation. Wishing he could leave behind the prophecy and being The-Boy-Who-Lived, and everything else horrible and inconvenient that happened to him because of these factors of his life. And then the door had appeared, he had walked in and then...

Nothing.

Just a bang and blinding light. And now this.

"Where am I?" Harry asked finally, seeing the other boy watching him worriedly. Harry realised he must have been silent and distant for a while.

"Just outside of Redwood." Replied the large man, standing now, he was very tall as well as muscular.

"Yeah, you're lucky we found you before a scout group did. They would have thrown you into prison for sure."

"A scout group?" Harry asked puzzled.

"Yeah, you know, the soldiers who patrol these areas, 'to keep the peace for us all'" When this was said the woman snorted in disgust. Harry heard her mutter, 'swine' under her breath.

"Why would they throw me into prison, I haven't done anything."

The woman laughed outright this time. "You don't have to do anything boy." Harry heard the scorn in her voice as she said that.

"What?" Harry demanded.

"The king wants anyone who might be a threat thrown into prison, and you're unusual and appeared without reason, which therefore makes you a threat."

"But that's not right!" Harry protested furiously, thinking of the ministry back home. Wherever home was anymore.

"This is war, Lad. War's all about not being right." The large man snorted.

"So these scout groups just arrest whoever they want?" Harry found himself asking. He knew he should really find out who these people were and where and when he was but he was too shocked by what they were telling him.

"Pretty much" The large man started, but was interrupted by the man under the tree who had been silent until now.

"Speaking of the scouts, it might interest you to know they just detected the wards and are about 5 feet from us."

The large man cursed, and leapt over to a number of bags near the fire, drawing a sword from amongst them, the nervous one leapt to his feet, his face paling slightly, the woman had drawn two daggers, her face focusedm her eyes narrowed. Harry stumbled to his feet and felt his pockets for his wand, to his relief he found it and raised it. His mind screaming questions the main being '_What in the name of Merlin is going on here?!?!?!'_

Suddenly six men walked out from the trees into the small clearing. All of them wore the same red and black uniform, a dragon silhouette emblem on the right side of the tunic they wore. Each of them carried swords.

"What do we have here" sneered the man who Harry guessed was the leader of the half-dozen.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were renegades, Sarge" snickered another.

"I'd have to agree." 'Sarge' stated and then drew his sword, his companions following suit. "You're under arrest" He barked, cruelly.

"No we're not. At least not until you arrest us." The man under the tree said with a yawn. Harry noticed the large man close his eyes with a sigh. Looking briefly like he wanted to strangle someone.

The man under the tree got slowly to his feet and stretched. He was several inches shorter than Harry with a mischievous air about him, though Harry had a strange feeling that this guy was not one to underestimate.

The man bent down and picked up a long, smooth looking staff which was a fair amount taller than it's wielder. In another time, Harry would have found that vaguely amusing.

"You can try arrest us if you like." The man continued. "I wouldn't advise it though. It could be painful."

The soldiers chuckled nastily.

"We'll see about that" 'Sarge' smirked, "Men, bring 'em in with force"

The two groups moved into action. The soldiers lunging forwards, those Harry stood with meeting the attack. Harry dodged the man who had jumped at him, his body still struggling to respond causing him to stumble and fall, he rolled out the way of another swing from the blade. Harry cast a cutting curse, which sliced deep into his opponent's sword arm causing his to drop the blade with a yell. Harry the stunned the man, rolling away before he got crushed by the falling man, he looked up to see the large man fighting 'Sarge'. Another soldier lay motionless on the ground. The shortest of their group circled another soldier, rolling the staff in his hands, a bored expression on his face. The other man was unarmed and dodging a soldier's attacks. Harry raised his wand to stun his opponent but he didn't have to. The young black haired man threw his hands out in front of himself and his opponent flew back into a tree, connecting with a crack. Roots then sprung up from the base to bind the man to the trunk. The woman snuck up behind 'Sarge' and swiftly drove one of her daggers into his back, he dropped his sword and followed it soon after. The was another crack and Harry turned to see the short man pulling his staff away from the man, Harry could see blood running down between the man's eyes before he fell face first into the dirt.

"Anyone else around, Obie?" Asked the man who Harry realised must be a wizard.

"Not that I can tell" 'Obie' stated, idly examining the man on the ground.

"Good. Is everyone alright." There was a 'yes' from the large man and an unladylike grunt from the woman.

The wizard then looked at Harry,

"What about you?"

"I'm fine, just sore" Harry replied, slightly awed by the simplicity in which this man had performed magic wandlessly AND wordlessly.

"Good" the wizard cheerfully replied.

The large one walked over to the man Harry had stunned.

"Nice work." He praised, examining the arm which had been badly severed by the cutting curse. "You didn't kill him though"

"Should I have?" Harry felt slightly sick at that. He didn't want to kill anybody, at least not without reason.

"If you want to live you do." The woman sneered. She walked over the man who was still bound to the tree knocked unconscious by the impact, she quickly slit the man's throat. Harry fought the urge to be slightly sick. A hand touched his arm, the wizard looked symathetic.

"As unappetising as it is, if we let them live, they'll report back to their master and we'll get unwanted attention drawn to us. It's hard enough trying to sneak across the country as it is, without being followed by scouts who want to arrest us for murder and treason."

"In other words, it's them or us, Boy." The woman said scornfully.

The large man had already cut the stunned man's throat while they spoke.

"Let's move the bodies; there shouldn't be another scout group for a few times, which gives us time to finish resting and then get a distance away."

The act was done quickly. Harry staying to rest under the wizards orders. When the group returned they covered the bloody patched with dirt and settled down. Looking at Harry curiously, and in once case, contemptuously.

The wizard suddenly chuckled.

"Perhaps an introduction wouldn't go astray here." Harry joined in the chuckle.

"I'm Harry" Harry decided not to give his last name, not until he was more sure of these people.

"I'm Tynan." The large man said, placing on hand on his chest, "Well, Sir Tynan, really. Only I had my titles and lands stripped when I refused to fight for the King."

"Sir? As in a knight?" Harry questioned puzzled. The others blinked.

"I'm not from around here." Harry added hurriedly.

"You must be from somewhere far away if you don't have knights." Tynan said slowly.

"Much farther than you think" Harry muttered to himself, none of the others heard him but the short man. Who said nothing, but mentally filed it away for another time.

"This is Princess Bryana." The knight continued, "We rescued her" he added proudly. The Princess rolled her eyes, looking severely agitated.

"For the last time, you did not rescue me, I was doing fine on my own. I did not need you to stumble in and do your so-called 'rescuing' Oaf" The last word was muttered under her breath, but loud enough it could be heard. Tynan flushed slightly, but otherwise gave no sign he heard her.

"Over there, is Obereon." Tynan's voice held an undertone of resentment and dislike. He gestured over at the short man who was back under his tree. He wiggled his fingers in a delicate wave to Harry.

Finally the knight got to the last member of the group; the young black haired wizard.

"And this is Marcus Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything Harry Potter... Oh! Except a lunch Box which I won a few years back! It had chocolate in it...

**Authors Note: **Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. (yondaime-kun, Necessary-Evil, captain lyd and MingShun)

**Chapter Two**

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Harry stared... and stared and stared... and stared.

"Are you alright?" Marcus Potter asked a worried look on his face.

"Fine" Harry finally managed, his voice coming out as a croak.

Marcus and Tynan still looked worried so Harry forced a grin, trying not to show the fact he was freaking out.

"So what's going on here?" He asked, curiosity surfacing.

"Like we said, it's war."

"Between who?" Harry questioned.

"Maybe this would be easier to explain if we started at the beginning." Suggested Tynan lightly.

"Good idea" Harry replied with a grim chuckle.

"Well it all started about a year ago now..."

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The old king had been murdered. A good and kind man, he had been seen as the saviour of the kingdom. In the years of his rule he had kept peace and prosperity the land over. His murder had shocked all, the main question of 'Why?' had been on everybody lips. In his place had risen his brother, who promised much. This too had puzzled the people; the next in direct line for the throne had been the king's daughter, Princess Bryana. However the princess had disappeared. The new king had told the people that she had fallen terribly ill with grief over her father's death. This was understandable to the people; it had been well known that the King and Princess had been very close, especially since the death of the Queen.

And so King Eamon had risen up and taken the throne in a time of grief. And it was then, that things turned for the worse. Where King Alston had cared for his people, King Eamon had neglected them. He was concerned only for himself and those higher nobles, concerned more in money and power than the kingdom itself. A cruel, hard man who hated all form of commoners, despised Mages, and frowned upon the unusual and things that he could neither understand, nor profit from. All those who defied him, his ways and his ideals were either thrown into prison and in many cases executed. The Kingdom quickly fell in a downward spiral. The people and lesser nobles grew angry and thus the initial stages of war. It had started with diplomatic meetings, attempts to make the king see reason, none of those missions had succeeded. It was when the king had a well-known noble and two mages arrested without reason at such a meeting when things started to get messy.

The commoners revolted, aided by all those who disliked King Eamon's treatment of the people, lesser nobles, mages, the occasional knight and warrior, began to fight back, protesting no longer with words, but with violence. Within months the country had split in two. The King and his followers and those who fought his rule, lead by Lord Aiken, a higher noble. Battles were fought continually. Many more soldiers and knights joining Lord Aiken's side. However the side that wanted peace were losing numbers fast. They could not keep up fighting for much longer. Men and women alike died and Lord Aiken wished not to lose any more lives than he had too.

This was where Sir Tynan and the others came in. Lord Aiken held a meeting with his most trusted followers, nobles, knights and headmen from the nearby towns. They had agreed that could not afford to fight for much longer, King Eamon had stronger numbers, and his fighters were better trained, the only chance they had at restoring in was to get rid of the source. Sir Tynan was a loyal friend of Lord Aiken, and so had offered his services. Aiken had agreed, if he could acquire some aid to help him in his travels across the kingdom and then to sneak into the city and castle. While Tynan was a excellent swordsman, and would be a match for the King in a fair fight, he would not be able to move across country and into city without help. And the closer to the city he got, the more enemies he would encounter. This was were Marcus had come in. Marcus mentor, and old mage by the name of Alston, offered Marcus's services, mentioning the fact that he was an excellent mage, and would be more than capable of aiding Tynan in his mission. When this offer had been made to Marcus, he had accepted immediately. The chance to help overthrow King Eamon was terribly frightening and yet, extremely appealing to young mage. Here was finally a chance to prove himself to others and to help restore peace and order to the land. Marcus and Tynan had been joined by Obereon. Obereon had been helped out of a tough situation by Marcus once before, and Obereon had wanted to repay him. So the three had left Lord Aiken's estate on the far border of the kingdom and began their journey. They had not gotten far before they had run across the Princess. Her uncle had sent her away with guards, getting her away so he could rule the kingdom. They had 'saved' her and then she had agreed to help them in their mission, so she could take her rightful place on the throne. They had only been travelling for a week and a half before they had seen the light, heard the bang and found Harry.

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"Terrible isn't it" Marcus asked after Tynan had finished. Harry looked up at him

"I want to help you" he found himself saying, and then winced internally. Curse his 'saving-people-thing.' Somehow it always managed to engage his mouth without asking his brain first.

"You do?" Marcus asked excitedly. He turned to look at Tynan. "We could use a more help, especially another mage."

Tynan looked thoughtful. "Since you're still alive after that, I can tell you can handle yourself in a fight."

"I've fought before" Harry nodded, thinking about the Department of Mysteries, with a pang of pain in his heart.

"Alright then. You can help us." Tynan agreed. "Be warned though, this is dangerous." The Knight added sternly. "I saw you were queasy after we killed those men, there is going to be much more than that. It you don't have the stomach for this..."

"I'll get used to it" Harry assured him, "I have to learn sometime how to handle these things, might as well be when I don't have a choice to do otherwise." He added grimly, thinking of the prophecy.

"Good." Tynan announced more cheerfully than before. "Welcome aboard friend. Now perhaps you could tell us something about you. We'll assume you're on our side, based on your reactions we got, and if you're not, well... you'll regret lying to us." This was punctuated with a cold glare, echoed by Marcus and Bryana. Although Bryana had done nothing but glare since he had first seen her. Harry nodded.

"I'm on your side." He said quickly. Considering the state of the men they had fought, after they had fought them, Harry had to agree he wouldn't like what they would do to him.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Marcus asked interested. "What happened when you appeared radiating magic, were you performing a spell and it went wrong?"

Harry thought about just how much he could tell them. Judging by current situations he had gone back in time... a long way back in time. He had no idea just what being this far back would do to the future, but he knew he should be careful.

"Something like that" Harry agreed in response in Marcus' question. "It was some other magic that I used and something went wrong with that."

Marcus winced. "I hope everything is alright with it" he said.

Harry nodded. He hoped that he could find a way back (or forwards). He wasn't sure how he would do that, he'd have to ponder it later, when he had some time alone.

"Well since you've got nothing with you, we'll go into Redwood tomorrow and get you some supplies, clothes, a bedroll etcetera." Tynan informed him.

Harry nodded his agreement and tried to stifle a yawn.

"We should get some rest." Tynan yawned too.

"Who's guard?" Marcus asked.

"I will" Obereon stated lazily. "The kid can use my bedroll for the rest of the night."

Tynan hesitated, Harry noticed Marcus glared at him and the knight sighed.

"Fine"

"Good" Marcus said forcefully. The air was tense while they readied for sleep.

Harry said nothing although he had a feeling things weren't all friendly amongst the group.

As he lay in the bedroll, his mind wandered. He couldn't stop himself thinking about his situation, what had happened? Had his friends and the teachers at school noticed he was gone? Would he ever be able to get back? What if something happened to him here? Exhaustion took over his mind and body and forced him to sleep. Unsettling thoughts invading his dreams; just what had he gotten himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**The Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own much. Thinking I do so is wrong.

**Authors Note: **Sorry it took so long to update. I recently moved so yeah... not much time to write...

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**Chapter Three**

Harry shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. When he had woken up that morning he had learned that in order to get across the country quickly, they had to ride. After about an hour of embarrassment and humiliation, Harry was finally able to sit atop a horse and ride it, without falling off. It would have to been easier if Bryana hadn't been cruelly laughing at him from the word 'go'. Still he had managed it, eventually.

Now they had packed up camp and were ready to leave. Marcus cast a spell which covered all traces of their being there and they urged the horses onwards at a steady even pace. Harry had a feeling they were going easy on him. Harry found himself thinking about Marcus. It could hardly be a coincidence. He did look a lot like a genuine Potter, at least to Harry's knowledge. What amazed him was Marcus' skill with wandless and even wordless magic. Although this had to have been several years before Harry's time, so maybe every wizard was like that. Due to the casual and careless way his ancestor performed magic, Harry was lead to believe this was so.

Harry turned his attention to the others. In the better light now he could make them out better. Tynan had taken the point of their riding, despite the fact that he looked relaxed there was an aura of alertness around him. The large horse he rode was just as alert as he was. Bryana was beautiful and yet she was guarded and slightly bitter it seemed to Harry. She had already shown her dislike of Harry and it seemed everyone else in the group, Harry made a mental note to avoid her whenever possible. The last of the group was the small man, Obereon. He sat lazily in the saddle, reins loose in one hand, staff in the other. He seemed just as bored as he had been last night. Harry had only been with them for around twelve hours and already he could sense the animosity between Obereon, Tynan and Bryana. Tynan tried to get along with Bryana, to no avail on her part. Marcus got on best with Obereon, Harry assumed this was because they had known each other before this mess, but also got along with Tynan too. Bryana didn't seem to care for any of them. Obereon only really spoke to Marcus and not the other two unless he had no other choice and even then his comments were disdainful.

Marcus dropped back from riding alongside Obereon to next to Harry.

"So you can't remember anything about what happened to you?" Came the eager question.

Harry shook his head in reply.

"If we make it out of this alive, I could introduce you to my mentor, he may be able to help you remember and return you to where you came from."

Harry looked at Marcus surprised, he hadn't expected an offer like that, he had been planning on doing this and then struggling by on his own.

"That would be good." He said slowly.

"Excellent." Marcus replied. "My mentor is one of the best mages in the land, if anyone can help you it's him. And if he can't then he knows a lot of other mages that could help."

"Thank you" Harry stated.

"It seems only fair that we repay you for aiding us. This is neither an easy nor simple task." Marcus looked slightly worried. "Are you sure you want to do this. It doesn't really concern you what happens here, you could be grievously injured or even killed for no reason other than you wanted to help. If you want to leave we will let you, but if you do it had better be soon if someone learns of you aiding us, you will be as much of a target."

"I want to help." Harry replied firmly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Marcus still looked worried but gave in. "Very well. but don't say you weren't warned."

"Besides," Harry added. "I need something to do with my time until I work out what I did wrong."

He heard a snort to his left. Obereon had dropped back as well, and had heard the last few comments.

"He has a point." Obereon said to Marcus, winking at Harry. "Besides, you said it yourself we need more help."

"We certainly don't get it from you" Bryana muttered from up ahead. She was ignored.

"Yes but last night was a spur of the moment thing. Now I had some time to think."

"Well that's a first." Obereon retorted. "If the kid says he's going to be fine, he'll be fine. We'll watch him, its okay. Stop panicking Marc. You'll go crazy." Obereon leaned back in the saddle, Harry wondered how he could be so comfortable doing that. Especially since it seemed the horse he was riding didn't quite like him very much. The horse's ears flicked back and then laid flat against the beasts head. The was an air of triumph around it, a second later Obereon's staff snapped up and smacked the horse on the back of the head.

"Don't even think about it" Obereon threatened. Marcus chuckled as the horse's ears went back up as it tried to look innocent.

"I hate horses" Obereon informed Harry. "Stupid animals. Don't you agree?"

Harry considered this. If he didn't know any better he'd swear the horses were listening.

"They're not bad" Harry replied carefully. "I guess you just have to get used to them"

"Ha! You're only saying that so you don't get thrown."

Harry silently agreed. Obereon getting bored with the conversation began to hum, sitting lazily in the saddle once more.

As the day continued Harry learned a bit about Marcus, his mentor and the land. Tynan also dropped back for a chat, telling Harry a bit more about the war and giving him some tips on how to better move and react in a fight. Leaving with a promise to teach him to fight hand to hand and possibly even with a sword. Bryana ignored everyone and Obereon continued to hum. Harry shook his head, wondering about the odd group and how they had managed to get this far without killing each other yet, the atmosphere seemed to scream that that certainly was a strong feeling amongst several of the group's members. Harry chuckled to himself. He was in the middle of a war, possibly riding to his death, Merlin knows how many centuries in the past, and yet, Harry couldn't help but feel a little happier than he had in a long time.

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Marcus watched their newest companion worriedly, despite Harry's words Marcus couldn't help but be concerned about the outcome of his joining them. Marcus was also confused about Harry's himself. There was a certainly familiarity about the other boy that he couldn't quite place. Marcus felt he should know him but he couldn't ever remember meeting him and even just seeing him around, and Harry said he had come from far away. Marcus shook his head, trying to clear it from troubling thoughts. Then there was Obereon, he knew something about Harry something no one else knew, but then again. Obereon knew a lot of things about people that no one else did. He probably knew things about people that he didn't even know. Marcus sighed, he knew worrying was going to get him no answers or peace of mind. He could only wait and see what progressed from here.

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**Author's Note: **Ok, sorry it's kinda short. But I wanted to update soon and it seemed like a good place to leave it. Updating should become more regular from now, that is if I am not too busy with my World of Warcraft. (FINALLY! - THE BURNING CRUSADES IS OUT!) I won't make you wait so long as you have just now. I've gotten back into the swing of things so updates should come quicker! (Reviews are good inspiration folks!)


	4. Chapter 4

**The Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that JK already owns.

**Authors Note: **I know I said I was going to update sooner.. but I've been busy preparing for Tafe... and now Tafe has started so I might not update as soon as I like. Sorry.

**Chapter Four**

The group rode all day until they reached the outskirts of a small town shortly before dusk. For almost half an hour Bryana, Tynan and Marcus argued whether or not they should take a chance and stay at the town's inn that night or camp further away from the town out of sight of any scouts. Harry listened to the argument until he saw Obereon move and make himself comfortable under a tree. He hesitated then joined the other man.

"Do they fight like this often?" Harry questioned. Obereon turned his head and looked at Harry.

"All the time." Came the reply.

"And you don't get involved?"

"Not if I can help it" Obereon snorted. "They don't want my opinion anyway" As he said this he raised his voice slightly, so the other three could here it.

"Shut up." Both Tynan and Bryana ordered harshly. Marcus looking ready to protest.

"See I told you they wouldn't" Obereon informed Harry amusedly.

"One of these days, you're tongue is going to get us killed" Bryana snapped viciously.

"In your case, I certainly hope so!" Obereon retorted.

Harry stifled a laugh, trying to cover his mouth unnoticeably. Bryana caught him and treated him to a glare that would probably could make Voldemort cower.

"That's not in the least bit attractive" Obereon noted pleasantly. Thankfully this resulted in the glare being transferred from Harry to the other man who didn't seem fazed in the least.

"No I'm serious. For a princess you have next to no grace and or charm." Obereon continued. Though his voice was light and cheerful there was a cruel undertone to it.

"Shut up" Tynan snapped to Obereon. The glare shifted to the knight.

"I can deal with this myself" Bryana hissed coldly. Obereon snickered nastily.

"You're no better, Knight" Harry noticed a look in Obereon's eyes with suggested he was baiting them on purpose, as though he wanted to see exactly what they would do when words wouldn't do anymore. "You're actually perfect for each other"

"How dare..." Bryana started as Tynan's hand went to his sword hilt.

"That's enough, all of you" Marcus suddenly barked. All their attention turned to him, to reveal a rather scary looking, angry young man. "If you can't at least be civil towards each other then you can leave and I'll do this myself!" The young mad continued, fire flaring in his eyes. "And this isn't the kind of thing one can do alone"

"Quite right" Obereon agreed suddenly, jumping to his feet. "Sorry, Lad." He patted Marcus on the shoulder, "To the inn then" he announced and heading into the town. Marcus glared at Tynan and Bryana for a moment before grabbing the reins of his horse and Obereon's and following the other man into town. Harry gathered his own mounts reins and followed him in, Tynan and Bryana bringing up the rear.

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The travellers settled down in the tavern, paying for several rooms and then heading into a private room for dinner. The air in the room was tense, almost crackling with negativity. Harry kept his mouth shut not wanting to start another argument. Instead, Harry watched his new companions. Marcus seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Harry, keeping his head down and ignoring everyone else. Tynan and Bryana both ignored each other but the pair frequently sent hate-filled glares towards Obereon, glares which when noticed by the man were replied with a bright friendly grin. Harry had a feeling Obereon was baiting the knight and the princess. When Harry caught Obereon's eye, the man winked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

After they had finished eating they peeled off, Tynan and Bryana returned to their rooms, muttering goodnights to both Marcus and Harry and continuing to ignore Obereon, who rose and slipped out to the main part of the tavern, leaving Marcus and Harry alone in the room.

"Do they ever get on?" Harry asked after waiting for the others to leave. Marcus sighed and shook his head.

"No" He replied, slightly glumly. "Bryana has too much pride and being raised as a noble looks down on us commoners. Tynan has his own pride and his ideals of right and wrong, good and evil, as stubborn as a mule and nothing can shake that." Marcus shook his head again.

"And Obereon?" Harry asked curious. It was interesting to hear his ancestor's perspective on his companions.

"Obereon is... Obereon really, he..." Marcus hesitated and then walked over to the door, locking it and muttering a spell under his breath. Harry watched this with interest.

"Obereon's a demon." Marcus whispered softly moving closer to Harry so he could hear.

"But what does that mean, what are they?" Harry was curious, he had never heard of demons, at least, not as actual creature, only in figures of speech.

"They're dark creatures, Harry, very dark. They're rapists and murderers. For centuries Demons and Humans have been enemies, Demons preying on humans when they can and Humans hunting them in return. It doesn't help that they are very powerful magical creatures. Stronger than most mages even."

Harry stared at Marcus in shock, taking in what he had just been told. His eyes glanced to the door, suddenly nervous about the short, auburn haired young man.

"Oh, don't worry about Obereon, he's safe. He's returning a favour to me, I saved his life once you see, and despite demon's bad reputation, they are true to their word... most of the time. And Tynan made him swear this long and detailed oath when he joined us."

"Oh" Harry relaxed slightly. "So that's why Tynan and Bryana don't like him?"

"Yes, Tynan was raised by ideals and knight laws which say what is good and evil, right and wrong, and being a Demon is probably the most biggest evil wrong, he thinks Obereon is going to turn on us in the night and slaughter us in our sleep."

"Which is why he didn't want Obereon to keep watch last night."

"Yeah, he's a bit paranoid sometimes. I think it might be part of his training." Marcus said smiling softly.

"and Bryana's the same?"

"Yeah..." Marcus chuckled, "though to tell you the truth, I don't think she likes anybody."

Harry snickered, he has been thinking much of the same thing.

"So, did you enjoy your first ride on a horse?" Marcus asked with a grin as he removed the spell on the door. Harry just winced, causing Marcus to laugh again, "You'll get used to it." he assured Harry. Together they left the room, walking across the hall and past the opening to the stairs, Harry noticed Obereon sitting with a small group of people playing a game which involved dice and, by the looks of it, a lot of money. Most of the money seemed to be in front of the demon. He had an eager, yet slightly clueless look on his face.

"He cheats" Marcus whispered in Harry's ear. "Makes them believe he has no idea how to play, uses magic to control the dice, and looks surprised when he wins."

"And no one gets suspicious?" Harry whispered back.

"He never plays in the same place twice and never ever if he recognises someone nearby. It also helps he's really good. People claim that it is beginners luck and no one suspects otherwise."

Harry snorted. "Well I guess that's one way to win" he muttered, Marcus chuckling and nodding in agreement.

The two continued to their respective rooms and said goodnight to each other. As Harry walked into his room, he couldn't help but look forward to what was going to happen next, whether during their journey, or between the Demon, the Knight and the Princess.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter and neither do I make any money from this...

One can dream however...

**Authors Note: **-dies of shock- OMG! I'm updating!I do have an excuse though, I have been really busy with TAFE and as such I have had no time to do a lot of the writing I would like to do.

**Chapter Five**

The group rose at dawn at prepared to move on again. Tynan had explained the need for them never to stay in one place for any longer than was necessary, and the need for them not to draw attention to themselves. The last thing they wanted was to have people being suspicious of them and what they were doing. Harry noticed that the knight seemed to aim this at Obereon, glaring harshly at the Demon who merely grinned cheerfully back. Harry could have sworn he heard Bryana mutter 'we're going to die' under her breath, but tried to ignore it.

They made their way out to the stables and prepared their horses for a long day's ride. Obereon staring his threateningly in the eye before starting. They worked in silence, Harry going slower than the others, trying his best to get it right first try. After messing up the first time, Marcus came over and showed him how to saddle him mount properly, again.

Obereon suddenly raised his head, he made his way out of his mounts stall and over to the door. Marcus looked up.

"Obie?"

"Shush" came the harshly whispered reply. They had all stopped what they were doing now, watching as Obereon quietly slipped out of sight. Tynan cleared his throat gruffly, catching their attention and nodded his head towards his mount. Marcus and Bryana went back to work. Getting the horses saddled and ready to travel. Done with Harry's, Marcus went and finished Obereon's mount. Leading the mounts by their reins the made their way towards the door. They stopped suddenly when Obereon came back in, he shook his head.

"Trouble?" Marcus questioned softly.

"Scout group. They don't look like they're here to rest either."

Tynan swore. "They must have found the bodies" he hissed angrily.

"shush" Obereon whispered.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later." Marcus replied, softly.

"shush"

"What do we do now?" Bryana asked, just as softly.

"shush"

"There's got to be a way out without being seen." Marcus mused.

"shush"

"Will you stop that!" Tynan and Bryana shouted as loud as they dared. Obereon looked innocent.

"I was just making sure you stayed silent."

Tynan gave a growl, looking ready to kill the demon.

"You're not helping!" He snapped

"Sure I am, I'm preventing you from getting killed by being too noisy!"

Tynan and Bryana both opened their mouths to retort but were cut of by Marcus.

"That's enough! Obereon stop it, we know we have to be silent" Obereon saluted Marcus in answer.

"Now, we have to find a way out of here without being captured." Marcus continued.

"We could try the back door" Obereon suggested helpfully. Everyone stared at him, then looked towards the back of the stable, where there was nothing but a wall, the loft and a large cloth blanket hanging from said loft. They looked back to Obereon.

"What back door?" Tynan snapped bitterly.

Obereon sighed in a long-suffering kind of way and walked past them, grabbing him mount's reins as he did so, practically dragging the horse along behind him. He reached the far end of the stable and reached out to grab the corner of the blanket. Pulling it aside revealed a large door. Harry blinked. That had to be the most obvious place and way to hide and door, and yet he had never even considered it. Obereon carefully, slowly opened the door and peered out. After listening carefully for a moment, he nodded his head and led his mount out, the other four following quickly behind. Once out, Obereon reached back in and pulled the blanket back into place and shut the door. After a quick, nervous glance around they each pulled on a large, brown hooded cloak, hiding their faces. Then mounted up and edged their horses into walks. They made their way slowly out of the town, the opposite way to where the scouts were asking around about any suspicious persons. Once out of sight they each kicked their horses into a gallop, leaving the vicinity as quickly as possible.

They rode hard all day, pushing the horses as hard as they dared. Tynan rode in the lead, taking them down several different paths which lead of the main road. By dusk they had slowed down and entered a forest. The trees around them grew close and tall. Harry's cloak and hair kept catching on low hanging branches. His face scratched from when he didn't duck in time. The air in the forest was stifling and close. The darkness hugged every thing in sight, making the place look darker and scarier than it should have been. Harry shuddered, he was reminded forcefully of the Forbidden Forest back in his time, he found himself begging silently and desperately that this forest wasn't filled with monsters.

"Very nice place this" Obereon observed brightly, after riding for some time in silence. Out of all of them he was the only one without scratches and cuts on his face and neck.

Harry shook his head, wondering how Obereon always seemed to be cheery no matter what the situation. Harry wasn't sure if it was infuriating or strangely reassuring.

In the last smothered rays of light they found their way to a small clearing by the edge of a lake with ran past. Harry wearily dismounted, leading his exhausted mount to the river. Once it had drunk it's fill he tied it to a tree, carefully imitating a knot which Tynan had showed him the day before. The others followed suit and then began to make camp for the night. It was not long before a fire had been made and light and they were preparing to cook food from their supplies. The group was silent, too exhausted to try and have a conversation or fight with each other. When Obereon offered to keep watch again Tynan opened his mouth the argue but then closed it with a sigh, muttering to himself in a resigned sort of way. Harry settled down for sleep and closed his eyes half listening to the other three humans doing the same, and Obereon settling down to keep watch. It was not long before he slipped into a deep sleep.

The group once again rose with dawn and hit the road before the sun had even finished rising. Harry felt refreshed after a good night's sleep, possibly the best he had in a long time. He rode at the back, happily following the others, just enjoying the calm in the eerie forest. As he rode he half listened to Tynan arguing with Obereon.

"Sure you know where we're going?" Obereon questioned innocently.

"Yes" came the abrupt reply.

"Ok, because if you ask me, we're lost" Obereon observed

"We are not lost."

"If you say so."

There was a brief silence for a while then Obereon began to hum. Tynan shifted agitatedly in the saddle. Shortly after the path they were following split in two. They stopped, looking for Tynan for directions.

"This way" he announced guiding his horse down the left path.

"Really?" Obereon sounded surprised, "I would have thought we're supposed to go that way." He pointed to the right.

Tynan turned in the saddle sharply.

"I know where I'm going. It's this way."

"I don't think so."

"I don't care what you think" Tynan retorted

"Well you should. I'm very important"

Tynan just snorted.

"I'm hurt, Sir Knight" Obereon placed a hand over his heart in a dramatic way.

Tynan muttered something rather nasty under his breath which Harry didn't catch. Obereon gave a world weary sigh and slumped in his saddle, looked dejected.

Tynan gestured for them to follow him, leading the way down the path to the left. They rode for several more hours, the trees around then thickening, the shadows getting darker and longer. The hair on the back of Harry's neck stood up, chills running down his spine. Something was very wrong here. Harry glanced over at the others, Marcus looked uneasy, glancing around warily, Bryana kept shifting in the saddle, jumping occasionally, Tynan kept watching his surroundings then checking sword. Obereon was humming cheerfully, gazing around, completely unbothered by whatever it was the humans were sensing.

Something moved in the corner of Harry's eyes, he jumped and twisted in the saddle, there was the sound of something moving away quickly. Harry pulled back on his horses reins, hauling the creature to a stop. He jumped at the sound of metal scraping on metal; Tynan came into view, grasping his sword tightly. Marcus and Bryana moved over alongside them. All of them were focussing on the trees where the sounds had come from.

"What are you looking at?" Obereon suddenly asked, loudly. Everyone jumped, Obereon laughed.

Tynan moved, swinging his sword around and resting the tip against Obereon's neck. The demon didn't even flinch.

"If you do not shut your mouth, I will shut it for you." The knight threatened harshly.

Obereon's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to reply.

"Can we focus please?" Marcus growled threateningly. Tynan lowered his sword reluctantly. Obereon looked disappointed.

They went back to trying to see in the pitch blackness between the trees.

"I don't see what you're getting worked up about." Obereon complained. "it's only centaurs"

The group spun to look at him.

"Centaurs?" Harry repeated weakly. In his experience centaurs WERE something to get worked up about.

"mhrm" Obereon fiddled idly with his staff.

Tynan however cursed.

"They'll kill us if they see us as a threat."

"Which is pretty much confirmed what with you drawing your pretty sword and all" Obereon seemed quite pleased.

Tynan cursed again, more violently than before, he looked slightly panicky.

"Don't worry about them, they won't try anything"

Tynan spluttered. "What make you think that?"

"Because I'm here" Obereon stated this as though it was obvious, "and everybody knows that Centaurs avoid people like me at all costs."

"Or what?" Harry couldn't stop himself from asking.

In reply the Demon just gave Harry a cruel, twisted, wolfish grin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group continued to ride through the deep, foreboding forest for several days. After having turned around the second day after they had followed Tynan's directions to go down the right side path.

Obereon only said 'I told you so' once.

Finally after what felt like an eternity of darkness and forbidding shadows they saw light again. Harry couldn't help but give a sigh of relief when they exited the trees to meet a road. They continued along the road between the forest and a sheer cliff face for some time, being forced to slip back in amongst the trees for shelter at night. Finally they were free from between the stifling confines of cliff and trees and hit open group. They made their way around the side of the cliff, where it sloped into a small mountain. Carefully picking their way up the side they came to a well hidden cave. Marcus announcing that they were going to spend a short time here, to rest and plan the rest of the trip. They were nearing the war-zone, they had to be careful whilst crossing it, lest they be caught, though the other wizard seemed confident that they could stick to the mountain side and avoid the fighting and being seen. Settling down, Harry idly listened to Marcus and Tynan discussing the probable situations, and positions of the two groups of fighters. It was not long before Obereon got up silently and made to leave their refuge.

"Where are you going?" Bryana snapped from near the small, cautious fire they had lit.

"Just to look around" Obereon muttered distractedly in reply as he walked out the entrance and into the dark. He ducked his head back in after a moment and blew Bryana a kiss, causing her to shout all manner of inappropriate names.

Harry found himself drifting into exhausted sleep, the last thing he remembered was thinking about all the new insults, names and curse words he had learnt since coming here.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer:**If I owned Harry Potter, I would be very, very rich...

**Authors Note: **-saunters out of tomb- Impressed much? I know I am –wide fanged grin-

Two updates in two days! Woo!

-Vampire happy dance-

I think this deserves a reward of blood! Don't you agree? I accept donations of AB- and O+

Sorry it's been so long in coming.

**Chapter Six**

Harry woke early the next morning to discover everyone but Obereon awake and talking. In fact Obereon wasn't even in the cave with them and judging by the look on Tynan's face, Harry wasn't the only one who had noticed it.

Stumbling over to the small fire Harry sat down and accepted some bread and cheese from Marcus. After a while he decided to take a risk.

"Where's Obereon?" He asked cautiously.

Tynan opened his mouth, a foul look on his face, but Marcus silenced him with a cold glare.

"He didn't come back from wherever he went last night." Marcus said. Tynan muttered something harsh under his breath and Bryana snorted disdainfully. Harry pretended not to notice, sticking to his silent vow to keep his nose out. The last thing he needed was to cause any more trouble for everybody. He just settled for making an acknowledging noise and went back to eating his breakfast. The other three soon began to debate whether or not to leave. Marcus wanted to wait for Obereon to come back. Tynan wanted to leave now, regardless of where the demon was – it was his own fault for leaving and not being back by now. Bryana agreed with Tynan though only because she hated the demon more than the knight. Harry watched the three argue for a while, before Tynan turned to him.

"We should leave, don't you agree, Harry?" Harry jumped at being asked for his opinion, and struggled to think of an answer that wouldn't upset anyone. But before he could answer, a voice interrupted them.

"We may have to make a change of plans." Obereon walked into the cave, grinning cheerfully.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tynan demanded after recovering from his initial surprise.

"Nothing, just looking." Obereon replied innocently.

"What? All night?" Tynan scoffed

"It was a long look"

Tynan opened his mouth to retort once more, but Marcus cut him off.

"What do you mean 'a change of plans'?" He asked slowly. Obereon's grin widened.

"You might want to come see this first."

They left the horses tied up in the cave and followed the demon along the mountain side. They kept their heads low and moved quietly and swiftly, picking their way carefully over rocks and sticks which littered the area. Obereon dropped down the side a bit further slipping into a cluster of trees. Once they entered they were then lead along under the shelter of the trees, the demon slowing his place right down so they were moving slower and quieter. Once the trees ended, Obereon dropped to a crouch and crept along the ground, drawing to where the ground dropped suddenly away. He turned and put a finger to his lips, then gestured them closer. Harry strained his ears and could vaguely make faint noises. They imitated their guide and crept closer to the edge, then peered over it. There were several gasps from his companions as the looked down at the last thing they wanted to see. Harry's eyes swept over the ground below where hundreds of men and horses congregated. Tents were set up as far as Harry could see in the valley. The noise he had heard had to have been the clusters of men which appeared to be running drills or some other form of training.

"So that's King Eamon's army" Tynan muttered darkly. Harry dragged his eyes away from the frightening spectacle beneath him and looked at his companions, glad to see that the others seemed just as unsettled by this as he was.

"Not all of them" Bryana muttered softly, almost to herself. "He had more than that before I was removed from the City. This is only a portion of his army."

Harry felt slightly sick, more than that? But...

"Just over 500 by the looks of it..." Tynan mumbled thoughtfully, "About five Companies, not including knights and nobles and commanders..."

"No Mages by the looks of things though" Marcus input softly, his eyes scanning over the area.

"Eamon hates Mages, so it makes sense there would be none in his army" Tynan agreed.

"Why does he hate Mages so much?" Harry questioned softly.

"He can't understand them; they scare and confuse him, so he denounces them" Marcus explained bitterly. "He hates anything he doesn't understand"

Harry nodded thoughtfully and looked back over the edge at the army. He couldn't suppress a shudder at the sight of it. Marcus patted him gently on the shoulder, in a comforting way. "We're gonna stop this" He said confidently. Harry nodded in agreement. Tynan sighed on his other side,

"Let's get back to the cave and get moving, we don't want to get caught here."

There was a general murmur of agreement from everyone and they turned, still crouched, planning on sneaking back out of site only to freeze.

A large group of armed soldiers were standing behind them, swords out and pointing directly at them, large smug grins on their faces. It was Bryana who voiced what they were all thinking.

"Oh crap"

-----

There was no chance that they could have fought their way free, not with a dozen men before them, and an entire army behind them. They were roughly searched for weapons, the soldiers removing Tynan's sword and dagger, Harry's wand and Marcus' and Bryana's daggers, Bryana being roughly groped in the process, much to Tynan's fury. They were then forcefully dragged down into the valley where they were bound, gagged, and left tied up to each other and a large stake buried in the ground.

It was not long before a tall man with an aura of smugness and superiority came over to stand in front of them. He wore clothes made of a very fine, expensive looking material.

"Well, well, well, if it's not Sir Tynan and his little group of heroes," The man smirked triumphantly, then focused on Bryana with a leer, "and Princess Bryana as well, what a pleasure. King Eamon has offered a very high price for your heads, a price I shall be more than happy to collect." He smirked again, "After all it is my duty to help the kingdom by stopping rebels like you from upsetting the peace" His face suddenly hardened, "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you, you will find I am far from kind when I am... displeased." He turned to leave then stopped. His attention flickered to Marcus then shifted to one of the nearby soldiers, "Captain, keep the Mage knocked out, we don't want him causing any trouble" The Captain saluted and grabbed a club which was offered him from another soldier. He came over and swung it at Marcus' head, Marcus tried to dodge but their bonds stopped him from moving to far. There was sickening thud as the club connected with Marcus' head and then he slumped over, knocked unconscious. Harry made a noise of outrage, hearing similar noises from Tynan and Bryana.

The man smirked and waved goodbye to them, a sickly sweet smile on his face.

"Enjoy your stay with us"

Harry stared hopelessly at Marcus, who was partially suspended by their bonds, his body limp and his face expressionless. He glanced over at Tynan and Bryana, and then realised something he hadn't noticed earlier in the confusion...

Obereon wasn't there.

-------

They were dragged along for several days, only given water once a day and occasionally some stale bread. Marcus was knocked unconscious each time he awoke for the whole trip except for the odd occasion when he was "allowed" to stay awake for water and a little bit of food, before beaten into unconsciousness again.

It was dusk on the fifth day of their captivity when they came up to a large fort. The outer wall was about sixty foot high; the inner appeared to be eighty feet. They entered through a large gate, Harry could tell just with a glance at the fort that it could probably withstand any attack upon it.

Once inside the fort they were manhandled into a large building with thick walls and heavy locks on the door. Harry's stomach dropped when his eyes adjusted to the lightless room and he got a good look around, several thick-barred prison cells with heavy locks lined the far wall. Several guards roughly unbound them and dumped each of them in a cell. Marcus was bound with manacles and kept gagged. Harry had a feeling they didn't want to take any chances with a known Mage. Harry himself felt hopeless, without his wand he was useless, he had no idea how to get out of this mess.

After they were securely locked away, they were left with two large guards, who sat down at a pair of chairs and a small table. They alternated between making rude and harsh comments about Tynan, Marcus and Harry, and suggestive comments to Bryana, and discussing the war between each other.

Harry buried his head into his hands, feeling afraid and nauseas. What were they going to do now?


	7. Chapter 7

**Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. But I do own Marcus, Tynan, Bryana and Obereon and a wide variety of other original characters.

**Authors Note: **And another! Man I am on a roll. –happy vampire dance–

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Seven**

Perhaps it was dark... or perhaps not. No external light came into the prison. The only light inside came from a several torches lining the walls. Each cell was the same, five square feet of a hard stone floor which was then surrounded by 3 walls and a door. The wall at the back of the cells was stone, and the other walls made from thick bars. The doors were also made from thick bars with heavy duty hinges and locks. There was little space in the cells to do anything other than sit in silence and fear. The four adventurers all bore the signs of a harsh ill-treated trip; bruises and hunger and exhaustion. Marcus was the worst, he sat leaning against the back wall shivering, the bruises on his face and forehead showing where he had been beaten in order to knock him unconscious. While the other three were perhaps slightly better physically, mentally they were broken. After getting so far and trying so hard, this was how it was going to end. Being captured by their foolishness and handed over to King Eamon to do with as he pleased. By the sounds of the guards loud boasting it appeared they were to be executed by beheading. It was cold in the prison, and the guards who had been so smug and superior earlier were now silent, bad-tempered and bored. After what had to have been a few hours, the guards had gotten bored with taunting the group. It seemed several hours of guard duty in a cold, dark cell was far from what they had been hoping to do when this war started.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The guards traded a wary glance, then the larger of the two got to his feet and crossed the room to the door. Carefully he opened it and then stiffened; his jaw dropping. A woman sauntered past him, balancing a tray with two mugs and a flask on it. Harry, Tynan and the two guards stared, open mouthed at the stunning tall beauty before them. Long blonde hair cascaded down her back to her waist, large bright blue eyes shone mischievously and her skin was tanned a rich golden colour which almost glowed. The dress she wore came to her knees but was split up either side to her hips and the top was very low cut slowing off quite an impressive cleavage. Both of the guards were drooling excessively over her. The door swung shut, making a loud bang which resonated around the silent prison.

"Gentlemen" the woman said, her voice silky and slightly husky.

There was a series of noises from the guards.

"I bring you... a gift, compliments of His Lordship."

More noises, the woman sashayed over to the small table between the guards chairs and placed the tray down. She then turned and faced them, leaning against the table. Arms holding herself up, chest thrown forwards, head tilted back slightly, exposing her neck in a suggestive manner.

Finally one of the guards got his voice back. "A gift hey?" he smirked, "A gift bearing drinks perhaps?"

"That depends." The woman crooned huskily.

"On what?" The other guard questioned.

"On wether or not you can catch that... gift." The woman was boldly smirking, every inch of her screaming suggestiveness.

Both guards smirked and made their way towards the woman. She gave a laugh and moved aside as the guards closed in on her. The next few minutes involved both guards laughing heartily, their eyes filled with lust and desire for this goddess like woman. She laughed richly with them, swinging her hips from side to side, always narrowly avoiding the guards groping hands. Marcus, Tynan and Harry were having a lot of trouble taking their eyes off the woman. Byrana was looking disgusted about the whole display. Finally after much of the 'game,' the larger of the two guards managed to get his hands on the so called 'gift'. He gave a triumphant laugh and sat down roughly in one of the chairs, pulling the woman unto his lap. She laughed,

"Well, well, well. It seems you're faster than I thought you were." She spun around, facing the guard that had caught her. She straddled his left leg and drew herself closer to him. Much to the guards delight. The other grumbled disappointedly as he watched his companion slip his hands around the woman, both grabbing her rear. The unlucky guard grabbed a mug and the flask, pouring himself a drink and drinking a several large gulps. He frowned as the woman and guard began to kiss lustily. Harry looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed by this, he found himself looking at Bryana who was frowning slightly, looking slightly perplexed. The guard who had missed out on the rest of the fun raised his mug to his lips then froze. A slightly sick expression crossed his face.

"I'll be back" he informed the other guard and rushed from the room. The lucky guard either didn't hear or didn't care, although considering his position it was probably the latter. The guard separated himself from his lip-lock with the mysterious woman, panting slightly. She rolled her shoulders back and stretched, throwing her chest out as she did so. She then reached to the side and grabbed the flask and poured a drink, she offered it to the guard who smirked boldly and took it.

"Cheers" he toasted the woman then took a deep drink. He lowered the mug and made to kiss the woman, who moved her head back resulting in the guard kissing her neck instead. His hands reinforced their grip. Marcus, Tynan, Harry and Bryana watched the proceedings in disgust. After an eternity of wet, sucking noises the guard took another drink. There was a silence, and the guard make a strange noise deep in his throat and like his companion he had a sick look upon his face.

"Excuse me a minute" he pardoned himself, pushing the woman off his lap and making his way towards the door. He stopped and turned,

"Stay here." He ordered the woman.

"Perhaps I need a reason to?" teased the woman, her voice sweet.

The guard hesitated and then an idea visibly came to him. He removed his belt and walked back over to the woman, slipping it around her waist.

"Guard the prisoners for me" he growled, trying to be seductive. The woman laughed richly.

"As you wish" he grinned, then rushed out.

There was a long silence in the prison. The woman rose to her feet and walked to the door, locking it.

"Took them long enough. My Gods." She muttered under her breath then turned to them. She walked purposefully over to the cell, and grabbed one of the bars, leaning into the door.

"My, my, my. We are in a bit of trouble aren't we?" she laughed richly once more. She received several stunned looks in response.

"Perhaps I could be of some service?" she suggested lightly and thoughtfully. She looked in at them, and smiled brilliantly.

"but then again, maybe not" she rose, much to the disappointment of the men in the cells, who had been enjoying the view they got when she leaned over like that. The woman noticed this and tutted,

"I'm disappointed in your boys, especially you Sir Knight. It's indecent for a knight to look at a woman like that. Hardly proper at all." She tutted again. Tynan made a choking noise, his cheeks flushed red.

"Well I suppose I better help you." She gave a long suffering sigh, then removed the guards belt, unhooking the keys. She examined the keys, searching for the right one. Upon finding the right one she opened each of their cells and let them out.

"Follow me if you will." She simpered and led them to the far side of the prison, opposite the door. She knelt down and tugged a large iron ring which was nestled in a groove in the floor.

"Give us a hand, dear Sir Knight?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at Tynan. The Knight hauled on the ring, drawing up a trap door and revealing a dark tunnel. The woman grabbed a torch from the brackets in the wall and led them down the tunnel, lighting the way ahead of them. The group had to move in a half-crouch so they wouldn't smack their heads on the ceiling.

Harry stuck close to Marcus, keeping an eye on his ancestor to make sure he was alright. Tynan too kept looking back too for the same reason, though he was having a little bit of trouble splitting his attention between Marcus and their beautiful rescuer. Bryana still was watching the woman with a look as though she was trying to remember something important.

Finally there was a light ahead of them, and they climbed carefully out of the tunnel and into a cluster of trees, glancing around Harry saw the high walls of the fort a short distance behind them.

"Come on, this way" The woman whispered hurriedly. "Before they realise you're gone"

Too worried about being caught and still suffering from the shock of being saved by this stranger stopped them from arguing. They made their way through the trees, taking a turn here and there until they came to a slight slope, still sheltered by trees. Harry seeing Marcus having some trouble, slipped his arm under Marcus' helping him, Marcus gave him a tired smile in response. They made their way up the slope for a distance until the woman disappeared suddenly, the group traded a glance and ran to catch up, after a second of confusion, they saw a well hidden cave, the woman looked out from it.

"Get in here" She ordered.

They looked at each other, and then did as they were told.

The cave was spacious and a fire cracked in the centre, in the back were their horses and packs, as well as the weapons which had been taken.

"but how..." Tynan spluttered, looking astounded. He turned and stared at the woman in disbelief, "How did you know about us? And why help us?" His eyes narrowed, "I don't trust you"

The woman gave Tynan a pitiful, hurt look.

"I'm offended Sir Knight, I go through the indignity and shame of throwing myself at those lugs in an effort to save you, and you stand here and tell me that you don't trust me?" She sniffed looking away, "you wound me Sir Tynan"

Marcus had been looking around, grinned and spoke before Tynan could reply,

"Obereon had something to do with this, didn't he?" He asked the woman happily.

The woman gave a wolfish grin and replied, "Yes, I did."

**End Note: **What can I say? Obie is very talented. –fanged grin–


	8. Chapter 8

**Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own this Harry Potter of which I write... only originals which were created by me... and my fantabulousness...ness... -goes crosseyed- ...ness

**Authors Note:** I was originally going to write another chapter for my new story Servants of Wizards, but then decided that Dance of Death needed to be updated. Hope you like.

**Chapter Eight**

Everybody stared at the woman, now identified as Obereon. He smiled a saucy smile and raised his arms above his head, twirling in a circle, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Impressive aren't I?" He asked, battling long eyelashes at them, then laughing richly.

Tynan looked disgusted, Marcus was laughing and Harry was torn between the two.

"Oh! Bryana, I borrowed your dress, as I think you noticed." Harry suddenly realised why Bryana had been looking at Obereon oddly earlier. "I had to adjust it a little, it was far too modest for my liking, but I'm sure you don't mind." The grin on his female face screamed that he knew that she would mind.

Bryana looked furious.

"You ruined it" She hissed, it seemed all she was able to currently comprehend about the whole situation.

Obereon looked down at himself, then squinted up at Bryana, then back to himself.

"Looks better on me than it would on you anyway" he stated nonchalantly. He then turned away from her, leaving her spluttering in both protest and disgust.

"You don't seem to be too surprised" He said to Marcus.

Marcus merely grinned, "This," he started, gesturing at the demon's female body, "I wasn't expecting, but I doubt you could surprise me anymore. I try to stay prepared for what you do."

Obereon grinned smugly. "Perhaps" was the simple reply. He then tugged irritably at his dress. "The things I do for these people" He muttered, loud enough to be heard. Then he rummaged through one of the bags and pulled out a bundle of clothes.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to get into something a little more comfortable" He walked out of the mouth of the cave, looking back over his shoulder at them and swinging his hips a little more just before he got out of sight.

"I hate him" Tynan muttered darkly, making his way over to the bags to check all of their things were there. Marcus scowled at his back,

"He did save our lives Tynan" he stated reproachfully.

"All the more reason to hate him" Tynan snapped back.

---

They got moving as soon as they had eaten and had a short rest. The group wanted to get as far from the army as possible before they realised that they were gone. It would take the guards a while to recover from the illness they had acquired from whatever had been put in their drinks by the Demon, but the alarm could still be raised much earlier than they expected. The further away they got, the safer they were, and next time they might not be as lucky as to have someone on the outside to help them.

As they rode though, Harry began to admit that Tynan had had a point about having all the more reason to hate Obereon for saving them. As they rode, the Demon was disgustingly smug and superior about having the save their asses from the enemy. While he never embellished anything, the honest truth tended to hurt a lot more. After several hours of riding and Obereon's boasting even Marcus looked ready to kill him. As it was, the atmosphere was tense when they finally stopped to rest, all of them trying to ignore Obereon, who thankfully had finally stopped boasting but still kept up a superior air about him.

After they had settled in Marcus gestured to Harry and they went to the entrance of the niche where two cliffs met – their shelter for the night.

"You can help me ward the entrance, just so no one notices we're here" Marcus explained softly. Harry shifted uncomfortably; he had never done anything like this before. Marcus noticed Harry's discomfort and gave him a soft, understanding smile.

"Its okay, I'll show you how to do it, it's not that hard."

Harry nodded, wondering if he should get his wand out.

"All you have to do, is concentrate your magic in the space between this wall and that one. Imagine you are building a wall made of magic that fills this whole space from side to side, and reaches about 7 feet up."

Harry tried to focus on what Marcus had said, but couldn't work out quite how to concentrate his magic. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Marcus, feeling slightly ashamed; they were depending on him to be able to do this.

"I've never done any magic like this before" he muttered softly. Marcus looked slightly surprised but nodded.

"Well I think I can manage for tonight then" He replied gently. Harry could only nod, looking glumly at his feet. He felt the magical barrier go up, and managed to grab Marcus' arm before he fell from exhaustion. He helped his ancestor back to where Tynan had lit a fire and then settled down himself, staring into the flames. Desperately wishing that he was more useful to these people.

---

They stayed in their hiding spot for a few days, while their time as captives had been terrible; they had in fact got closer to their goal than they no doubt would have gotten picking their way carefully around the army in an attempt not to be noticed. That meant they had the time to fully rest. Harry knew that while this was true, Tynan also wanted to give Marcus time to recover from his injuries inflicted by their captors. On their third day in hiding, it was agreed that it was time to get moving again. They still had a long way to go to get to the Capital, though as Tynan cheerfully pointed out, they were making good time. Harry was riding towards the back of the small group, dropping further and further back as they went along; he was feeling more than a little useless on this mission. He found himself staring idly at the back of his horse's neck, lost in melancholy thoughts. He jumped in surprise when he heard a voice speak up next to him.

"Something the matter, Harry?" Marcus asked, concern in his eyes.

Harry glanced at Marcus and then turned his head away, remembering his poor attempt at hiding them and feeling ashamed again.

"I'm fine"

"Liar" Harry flinched at Marcus' blunt accusation.

"You shouldn't worry about the ward, it can be tricky to do, your first time" Marcus said comfortingly.

"I've never done any magic like you do before." Harry muttered.

Marcus looked surprised, "but you are a mage" he persisted, looking slightly confused.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort, trying to think of a way to say this without mentioning the future; he really didn't want to find out what would happen if he did.

"I think I must have learnt magic that was different to yours" He finally settled on, feeling incredibly stupid, Marcus wouldn't believe him, all magic was the same... wasn't it?

"That would explain a few things," Marcus stated thoughtfully, "and it's not uncommon, my master has taught me about quite a few other branches of magic; druidism, shamanism, and then of course there is Demon magic, and dragon magic..." Marcus trailed off staring off into the distance with a look on his face that reminded Harry of Hermione when she was about to go on a studying frenzy. Harry couldn't help but smile at the thought. After a moment of silence, Marcus visibly shook himself.

"So what type of magic have you studied?" He questioned eagerly.

"I don't know," Harry admitted truthfully, "it's always just been... well... magic"

Marcus nodded, "If you came from somewhere which is perhaps closed off from the rest of the world then I can imagine that that is all it is to your people" Harry thought about the wizarding world and grinned, yup, that's exactly what it was.

"My... err... people, think it makes us a lot better than everyone else" He admitted.

Marcus snorted, "That tends to be typical thinking in a lot of magical societies, it not true of course, but people think like that anyway." He shook his head, but then brightened.

"Well then, since we know you do have magic, and sooner or later we're going to need more magical help, I guess it's up to me to teach you MY kind of magic."

Harry looked at Marcus in shock.

"Really?"  
"Yes, it's not that hard, and it is much more discreet than your style seems to be" Marcus replied, eying the end of Harry's wand in his pocket. Harry nodded, started to feel quite excited.

"Alright, well we might as well get started then" Harry shifted position slightly, making himself more comfortable as he fixed all his attention on Marcus.

"Magic is simple enough to understand if you think about it the right way. My mentor once told me that the basis of magic is the same, it's the ways which we use it that are different." He started thoughtfully, scratching his nose as he worked out the best way to explain everything.

"Everything that is capable of magic, has their magic... stored, I guess you could say, somewhere inside them. The best description I have heard in terms of the magic inside a person is as a Well. The magic stays inside this well, and we draw from it as we need it. When you perform an act of magic, you are, say, reaching inside this well and drawing the magic which you need _to_perform this magic. For small magics, you would draw only a small amount, and for larger, you would draw much more magic." Marcus looked at Harry,

"Are you with me so far?"

Harry thought about what Marcus had told him so far and nodded, it seemed a lot easier to think about magic as a thing rather than just being told it was there.

Marcus grinned;

"Good" He cleared his throat, picking up his explanation where he had left off.

"When I was first taught magic I had a lot of trouble getting the magic I required to perform the spell, you seem to do something similar. My mentor suggested that I should try to visualise my well of magic and imagine myself pulling the magic from it to use." Marcus chuckled,

"I had some trouble with this too, it was hard for me to focus on the spell I was supposed to be performing and my magic well at the same time. However the more a practised it the easier it got, and then one day I realised that I was no longer trying to visualise my well any more, I just knew it was there."

"How did you visualise it?" Harry questioned.

"Here, I'll help you try to find yours, close your eyes"

Harry did as he was told,

"Relax, this isn't a test of any kind" Harry could hear Marcus smiling and tried to relax.

"Just try to clear your mind" Harry flinched at that, thinking of Snape.

"I don't know how" He grumbled, stupid Snape...

"Take deep even breaths" Marcus ordered softly, "take in all the sound around, don't try to focus on anything, just... listen, and keep breathing nice and deep and even. Keep that up for a while, until you can feel yourself relax."

Harry did once more as he was told, breathing deeply and listening idly to everything that was around him. After a while he felt a lot calmer and more relaxed than before.

"That's right" Marcus praised softly. "Now I want you to imagine a well, just sitting in the middle of clearing somewhere, I want you to see what it looks like, what it is made from, what defining features it has."

Harry focussed on his well, thinking of a mock one he had seen in one of the Dursley's neighbours' back gardens.

The outside was grey and brown stone, with a wooden frame over the top where the bucket would normally hang. Moss and grass grew all over it, giving it an untouched feel. Harry imagined that he reached out and touched it, feeling the cold, damp stone underneath his fingertips. Looking inside it, Harry could see it was filled almost to the top with a thick-looking blue/grey liquid which shimmered and seemed to glow ever brighter as he looked into it. He reached out with his left hand to touch the substance, feeling a tingle run up his arm and through his body as his fingers connected with surface, sliding into the oddly cold and thick fluid. As he pulled his hand back out the substance clung to it briefly then seemed to sink into his skin. Harry shivered at the feel of it, feeling oddly surreal and calm, like he had never felt before. He then heard Marcus speak to him, as though from very far away.

"And that, Harry, is how you find your magic"

---

Harry opened his eyes, the well vanishing from sight, and yet Harry could still feel it at the back of his mind, just waiting for him to need it. He turned and looked at Marcus, feeling slightly bewildered.

Marcus was grinning happily at him.

"I felt the same way too, when I found mine"

"Now as I said, to perform magic, you just need to reach into the well, and pull out the magic to help you. Let's have a look..." Marcus eyed the area around him, looking for something, and then reached out his right hand, palm out and fingers wide spread. A rock flew up from the side of the road, directly into his hand.

"This should do the trick."

Marcus balanced the rock on the palm of his hand.

"What I want you to do, is use your magic to lift this into the air. Not very far or very fast, I don't need any more bruises if I can help it."

Harry stared at the rock, trying to focus on raising into the air.

Nothing happened.

"Not like that" Marcus admonished, "Use your magic. Focus onto your well, reach into it, draw a little bit out, and use it to lift the rock."

Harry nodded, took a deep breath and focussed once more on his well. After a while it came into view, reaching inside he doubtfully grabbed a handful of magic. To his surprise it came easily, long strings of it connecting his handful to the surface, another tug and the strings broke, the magic still connected to his handful then seemed to lift up and wrap around his hand, forming a glowing orb around it. Harry then focussed on the rock on Marcus' hand, trying at the same time to keep the magic and the well in his mind. Reaching out with the hand covered in magic, he envisioned it flowing into the rock, and then lifting it into the air. After a moment of nothing happening, Harry focussed a little harder, and then suddenly the rock rose. Harry was so surprised he let his attention slip and rock fell back into Marcus' palm.

"Well done!" Marcus cried happily, "and your first try too! Excellent! Soon you won't have to concentrate on it so hard, and you will be able to do it instantly."

Harry felt a surge of pride run through him, and couldn't stop himself from grinning widely.

"Let's try that again, though let's see if you can get your magic faster"

Harry spent the rest of the ride with Marcus, practising this new way of performing magic.

When they stopped for the night, Marcus gave Harry a lesson on shielding their camp from being seen by unwanted visitors, after a few attempts, he managed to get a basic ward around them, Marcus strengthened it with his own and they joined the others around the fire. Harry was the first to get into his bedroll, the day's hard work finally catching up with him. He closed his eyes, barely listening to Marcus and Tynan discussing the rest of the journey, and smiled softly. Maybe he wasn't going to be so useless after all.

**End Note: **I hope my explanation about how magic works wasn't too confusing for you all, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me them.

I would like to thank A Pink Rose once again, I feel she may be influencing me to write more, though this time with was without her harsh cruel slave driving ways.

---

I was sitting here, writing this and listening to "I want to break free" by Queen... and I couldn't help but desperately miss Boewyn...

Boewyn I love you!!!

--tries to think of a way to incorporate Boewyn into this story... then gives up because I know that sometimes... you just have to let fun characters rest for a while--

Besides... at the moment, he's too drunk to do anything coherent

--listens idly to the drunk singing from the bed in the corner, then snickering, grabs a bucket of ice cold water--

See you next time folks

--dumps water on Boewyn and legs it--


	9. Chapter 9 I rescued it!

**Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I own my own originals; I don't own JKR's own originals...

**Authors Note: **--looks up from picking silver bullets out of various places on body--

It's a good thing as an Author I'm immortal in this realm of fanfiction, or else Boewyn would have killed me after the end of last chapter.

--reaches behind self and removes silver dagger from back—

Anyway, onto the Authors Note!

--shot of Boewyn laughing hysterically in the background holding a still smoking gun--

Well I have begun the process of enrolling in tafe once more, so hopefully by the end of the year I will be a qualified Library Technician. However this means that Tafe starts in one and a half weeks, which means since I am doing it full time... It will cut back into writing. I have been pleased with the amount I have written this past month or so, and while not as much as I would really like, it was more than I thought I would wind up doing. I will try my best however to update more regularly than last year (which shouldn't be hard since last year I updated maybe one chapter total... and that was for Lives and Death of Harry Potter)

I'd like to thank all my readers and reviewers for not giving up on me this past year and I hope that I can do better by you all this year.

**Chapter Nine**

Obereon let his horse lead the way along the worn path. They had come to an agreement for the moment, it wouldn't throw him, and he wouldn't remove any of it's limbs. While it wasn't flawless, it did give the Demon a chance to focus on other things. Since they had gotten free (thanks for Obereon) the group were staying well off the roads, sticking to little know game trails and heavily protecting their camp at night. There was no doubt that King Eamon knew that they were coming and were getting closer, much closer than he would no doubt like. The group were a little more relaxed than usual, but still alert. Obereon was taking advantage of the calm and his mounts behaviour to think. These past few months had been...

Interesting.

First there had been the start of this little 'war' amongst the humans. It was strange the way humans quarrelled over simple things, and the way they made catastrophes over nonsensical fears. Of course, Obereon would be a poor spy if he didn't try to involve himself in this frivolity as much as possible. So naturally, after hearing about the Knight and Marcus volunteering to single-handed take on King Eamon, he had offered to help. Obereon smirked to himself, he had known that letting the mage 'save his life' would come in handy some day. The knight had taken an immediate dislike to him, though that was no matter to him, he had of course expected it, he expected much of what happened on this journey, though he still had the occasional surprise. The Princess for a start... Demon Lords, she was annoying, and it took a lot to ruffle Obereon's feathers. Not that she needed to know that she did though. She was easy enough to manipulate however.

Then there was the boy.

Obereon frowned, absentmindedly tapping his mount of the back on it's head as it tried to stray. He glanced back behind himself to look at the two magi riding at the back. The boy was strange; there was no doubt about that. Something about him was not right. Contrary to what the boy had said, Obereon KNEW that people did not just appear like he had done and not know HOW. Moving around like that was not an easy thing to do, and not something which could be done by accident. The boy's excuse was that he had been trying strange magic, but Obereon had felt the magic that had flared when the boy had appeared and then later, the boy's magic. They were different, exceedingly so. On top of this the boy said that he was from far away, but how far? Obereon had a feeling that it was much much farther than he let on, perhaps phenomenally far. The boy's mannerisms, the way he was dressed when he appeared, they way that everything that was said and done seemed to awe him, as though he had never seen or heard anything like it before in his life... life across the land or sea was not so different than here, despite what people believed.

Obereon's frown deepened. The boy confused him, there was something... alien about him... as a demon he knew much about the world, he had watched it change for centuries, disguised as a human, spying on the human race there was little that he didn't know when it came to them, and he had never seen or heard anything like that boy, where he hadn't been was well documented by other demon spies... nothing was like him. There was of course one other option though... As a demon there was little Obereon did not know or had not seen, and therefore there was little he did not believe in, all myths had a basis in truth, all legends had an aspect of fact, but the future...

He hesitated, it was impossible... the future was undecided, unpredictable... even people who could see in the future were never truly correct, the future changed constantly nothing could truly predict what was to come... and having someone come to the present from the future well it had to be impossible... although now that he thought about it, it wasn't unheard of...

Obereon glanced back once more, Marcus appeared to be trying to describe something to the boy, waving his hands erratically about in the air, faint hints of magic sparking across his fingers. Ah, humans, they had so much potential.

Pity they never used it.

Obereon found himself itching to return to his people's city to search the libraries for information on encounters and experiences with the time-travel phenomenon. He scowled furiously, he couldn't though, because he knew, just knew, that if he let the humans out of his sight for so much as a single minute, they'd get themselves into trouble again. He knew he would never forget the damn dress incident. Obereon winced and quickly glanced over himself, checking to make sure he was male. The things he did for these hopeless mortals. When Demon Lord Magtheridon ordered him to spy on the humans here all those centuries ago, he hadn't expected to be babysitting them.

He shook his head in dismay, as much as he wanted to learn more about the boy, he knew it would have to wait. When all this was done, he would have to try getting him away from Marcus, if only for a chance to study this boy-phenomenon in more detail. Obereon smirked at his thirst for knowledge, spy or no spy; one should always remember that old adage, once a scholar, always a scholar...

His thoughts shifted slightly, all in all, the boy was a mystery, though incredibly naïve, the princess was a pain in his tail, the knight was all brawn and no brains, and Marcus, well he had to admit he liked Marcus, despite the fact that he was a typical human mage, but he was tolerable by Obereon's usual standards.

Obereon gave a heartless laugh aloud, smirking openly. They were all so easy to manipulate, it was a shame really, even if it did make his job easier. Laughing again, he went back to watching the road, letting himself think idly.

----

Everyone looked up as Obereon laughed heartlessly all of a sudden. Harry couldn't stop himself from visibly shuddering.

"Do you get the feeling that he is up to no good, when he does that?" Harry questioned his ancestor. Marcus patted him sympathetically on the shoulder,

"He does that to most of us."

"I wonder what he's thinking about" Harry couldn't help but feel curious.

"I really don't think that's something we need to know" Tynan muttered.

"Agreed" Came the reply from the rest of the group.

"Damn straight!" Obereon shouted back at them, then laughed again, the same heartless cynical laugh. This time everyone shuddered.

Finally the demon went quiet, only chuckling darkly to himself every now and then.

Harry tried listening to Marcus again about some of the more impressive magic he had seen and how they had been done, but found he couldn't concentrate. Something about Obereon made Harry extremely nervous, perhaps it was the way that he always seemed to know more about each person than they did, and never seemed surprised when ANYTHING happened. Everything about him made Harry uneasy, and yet, he didn't seem to be a bad person... Harry liked him... even if he did give him goosebumps.

Harry shook himself and focussed his attention back onto Marcus. Harry had been swallowing his lessons on this other form of magic in gulps. Marcus was an excellent teacher, enthusiastic and patient, even if he did tend to go off on tangents and get easily distracted. Harry didn't mind though, everything Marcus was teaching him was interesting, and Harry found himself getting better and better at performing this style of magic everyday. It was a thrill, knowing that he was learning something that he knew would not only help on this adventure, but if he got back to his own time, would help there too. He doubted that anyone would expect him to be able to do wandless and wordless magic! (HA! In your face Voldy!) So far he could now lift things, throw things (proven by the bump on the back of Tynans head), light fires and his favourite, place a protective ward around their camp. He was finding it easier to find and draw from his inner well of magic, however he still had to imagine it before attempting magic. While he was a little disheartened by this, Marcus told him that this was normal, and that he was improving faster than anyone else he knew. Hearing this had cheered Harry up immensely. It felt good to be able to do this without help from anyone else, Marcus tended to tell Harry what he wanted to do, the basics on how to do it, and then letting him try it himself, only giving advice and pointers when Harry was struggling.

Tynan called Marcus up to ride with him briefly to talk about the ride ahead. Leaving Harry to reflect on the journey so far. It was frightening and exciting all at the time. Never before had he Harry had done a lot of things that were both life-threatening and fearsome before, but this was entirely different. This time there was no one he knew, to turn to. There was no Cryptic Dumbledore, no Smart Hermione, or Loyal Ron, or Cynical Snape... and yet, with these people, who at the start had been complete strangers, he still felt safe and confident. He admitted it was the hardest adventure he had been on yet, sleeping on the ground, riding from Dawn until Dusk, dodging soldiers and bandits and being captured and constantly being partially alert and aware sure took a lot of effort to get used to, but he felt like he was finally getting the hang of it. Though there were still things which awed and surprised and terrified him more than ever.

He looked at the rest of the group. Tynan was brave and strong, though perhaps a little bit thick, tending to fight sooner than think. Bryana too was brave, yet she was also intelligent, though sceptical and quick to make judgements. Marcus was open minded, powerful and brilliant, however easily distracted. Obereon, while unsettling was kind... well kind in the way that he didn't bait nor provoke Harry like he did Tynan and Bryana. In fact, he tended to leave Harry be, mostly.

Harry smiled to himself, he couldn't believe just how much he trusted these people, even after only about two months. Though he had to admit, he did miss Hogwarts and his friends greatly, and there were many nights where he lay awake thinking about them and worrying about whether or not he could get home, debating to himself whether or not to tell the others, or at least Marcus, the truth about where he was from. He was scared about what would happen if they found, if they would believe him, or if by telling them, he would mess up the future. He had been cautious in using his style of magic around them, afraid of the kind of questions they might ask and the consequences of his actions on the normal time-lines. He shivered, wishing he knew more about time-travel to help him make decisions in this place, and also wishing that Professor Binns his History of Magic teacher had taught them more magical history and less about the Goblin Wars, it sure would have come in handy right now. As it was, Harry decided to move cautiously and let his new friends know nothing of the future for now, and do his best to help, but not do anything drastic. Harry cringed as Obereon laughed again, making him push his dubious thoughts aside for now, something told him that the Demon was up to something and desperately hoped that it had nothing to do with him.

---

**End Note: **Once again my non-originality for names strikes again. Magtheridon is a demon in the Warcraft Universe.

He is not a nice demon.

Ever...


	10. Chapter 10

**Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I only own my original characters, plot and ideas. All Harry Potter-ness are belong to JRK.

**Authors Note: **Sorry for the long time waiting for this one. I have had a bit of writers block and couldn't quite work out what was the happen next.

**Chapter 10**

Harry found himself looking at each of his companions in turn, smiling softly as he thought about how much they had come to mean to him since they had met. They were as important to him as any of his friends at Hogwarts.

The small group were currently sitting around the fire, considering their near futures, their camp heavily protected. They were now only a days' ride from the city. Earlier Marcus and Tynan had scouted the area, and had returned to report that the area was crawling with patrols of the King's guards. It was for certain that word had reached the King of their capture and then escape, ensuring that their plans of sneaking into the castle were ruined.

"So how do we do this?" Tynan muttered, seemingly thinking aloud, though he looked up at the others as he said this.

"Everywhere between here and the City his guarded, there is nowhere that isn't being watched or patrolled." He continued, his face troubled.

"Did you honestly think that we would just be able to ride right up into the city with no problems?" Bryana scoffed. "Regardless of whether he knew we were coming or not he will have guards stationed within miles of the city, increased patrols within the city, just watching and waiting for someone to try something, anything to stop him. And then when they do, he have them caught and killed." Her voice was blunt and harsh, and there was a tone of bitter remorse in it.

"Eamon is no fool," She continued softly, looking away from them. "As much as I wish he was, he is far from it. He is a wise and cunning man, and will be prepared for any attempts on his life. We will not be able to simply walk in and challenge him" At this she shot Tynan a foul look. "We can only try to out-smart him, a near impossible feat."

"This is a fool's mission." She added coldly.

Harry took a deep breath, he had mostly avoided the Princess since the beginning, her sharp temper and sharper tongue had encouraged Harry to keep his distance from her, but curiosity got the better of him.

"I thought you wanted Eamon dead, so you could take his place?" He questioned hesitantly.

Bryana shot Harry a glare, though it seemed not to hold its usual malice.

"Wanting him dead will not cause him to have a heart attack and die" Came the retort.

Harry snorted, seeing Tynan and Marcus have similar reactions.

Bryana sighed, her face softening from the usual bitter expression it carried to one of remorse.

"I wish to end Eamon's reign, and to save my people from his tyranny it is true. But you cannot deny that my Uncle is well prepared, it will be no simple task to destroy him. As much as I hate to admit it, Eamon is an intelligent and cunning man, he is not easily fooled."

She turned away from them, "and it does not matter, there is no way we can get into the city with it being so well protected, and we will not get close to Eamon with him being so well guarded." The last part was half shouted, almost hysterically. Harry could see the regret and misery in her eyes, and couldn't help but relate to her. Her people were in danger, and there was little Bryana could do to stop them, just as Wizarding Britain was in trouble and nothing Harry could do to help them.

Especially not now...

"We have to try" Tynan stated softly, reaching out to touch her on the shoulder. Bryana spun around,

"Try and fail" she snapped harshly, jerking away from the Knight's touch. "We will die, slain at the hands of Eamon's men, or at Eamon's hands himself. And he will be much crueller than his men will.

"Perhaps not" Obereon replied, instead of his usual mocking or joking tone, his voice was soft and thoughtful, a tone which was mostly unheard from the Demon. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean, Obie?"

"I might have another way into the city" came the slow and careful reply.

"Might?" Questioned Tynan, as Marcus said "but...?"

Obereon shifted, looking uncomfortable for the first time since Harry had met him, and judging by the looks on the faces of everyone else, the first time since they had met him too.

"How?" Came the general question.

Obereon remained silent, a troubled look on his face.

"Might, as in maybe" He corrected suddenly, "no guarantees" He added sharply. The troubled look changed to an unexplainable expression of what appeared to be disgust and indecision. The Demon ran a hand through his hair turning away from the humans and striding a few steps away from them, then turning sharply around and pointing at them,

"Rules! There are rules" He barked, moving his finger to point at each of them in turn. He turned away and back again, striding towards them, stopping right in front of the bewildered looking mortals.

"You stay, right here" He ordered, pointing at the floor of the cave in which was their latest hiding spot.

"Do not leave this cave, under any circumstances." He glared at Marcus and Harry. "You two ward this place. Seamless wards, understand?! I want to have trouble finding this place when I get back, damnit!"

He paced nervously for a second, and then turned back to them once more.

"All of you are to stay here! Don't leave, don't speak, don't even breathe! Just stay right here!" He turned away and went to leave the cave, then hesitated, and spun around once more. Harry felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. The Demons eyes glowed with a cold fire, no longer their bright blue colour, but a golden red.

"If I so much as THINK that you have moved so much as an INCH, I swear I will kill you myself!"

With that last threat Obereon turned and stalked out of the cave, disappearing out of sight amongst the trees.

Harry and Marcus carefully put up the strongest combined ward they could manag then joined the other two once more, they all exchanged nervous and frightened glances and then each carefully sat down on the floor.

-----

Obereon stomped through the forest, trying to his frustration.

What on earth had he been thinking?

He was only here to watch the human's progress, not get so directly involved. Why in the name of Demon Lords did he say that he knew of a way in? This was none of the Demon's business, they weren't supposed to get involved. He was a spy!

Obereon stopped and banged his head on a nearby tree.

For a genius he sure had really gone and said something stupid.

Stupid Obereon, Stupid Obereon, Stupid Obereon.

He sighed, why did he feel the need to get drawn in like that.

It's not like he _liked _the humans. What did he care if they failed? He would get away without them noticing and go back to his library and his books with the occasional trip back into the human world for research reasons. That's all humans were good for!

…

Demon Lords he was getting attached…

He's learned their names and kept them alive and safe and now he was attached to them…

He'd heard of this happening… quite a few demons had been exposed to humans and found themselves _wanting _to help them… but he had never suspected that it would happen to him.

Damnit.

Well who knows… maybe it would be informative, the sooner they got this done with, the sooner he could go home and remove this… sentimentality for humans.

Obereon shook his head in dismay.

Getting attached indeed.

Dust collected around his feet and then engulfed him in a cyclone. After a few seconds the dust settled, leaving an empty space where the Demon had been standing seconds before.

------

The Demons were an old and powerful race.

Some believed them to be as old as time itself, all of them ancient and wise and most of all dangerous.

This is true.

Many also believed that Demons kept themselves hidden from the rest of the world, completely careless of the human race in its entirety. Ignoring the wars and ways of the human world.

This is only partially true.

Demons do keep themselves hidden, that is for certain. The last thing Demons want or need is to have foolish and arrogant humans stumbling around on their land and brining their trouble with them.

But they do not ignore humans.

They've tried, Demon Lords, have they tried.

However humans are a very noisy race, they can do nothing but make a fuss about everything.

And Demons are an immensely curious race, which find it impossible not to stick their noses in other peoples business.

However as curious as Demons are, they still loathe the thought of nosy humans. Which left them with a dilemma, how to observe the humans and yet stay hidden? The result was Demons acquiring humans forms and wandering among them, disguised and hidden from the human race and able to observe in peace. Few Demons announced their true forms to humans, only those who believed that exposing themselves would be beneficial. Obereon was one of those who saw the benefits in letting the occasional human learn of the truth. Though there were many who lived their lives watching from behind their human masks.

Nekael was one of those who stayed hidden.

For a hundred years he had lived on the outskirts of the City, watching the human race speed along as they panicked and rushed and grew old and died.

Strange little things really, he wondered why they bothered. They got themselves so worked up and by the time they realized that it wasn't so important after all, they died.

Silly things.

Nekael raised his head as the warning rune stone flared, signaling that another Demon had entered his territory. Nekael frowned; he wasn't expecting anybody, especially not with the human's current war, since most Demons avoided the human wars. They were so messy.

He raised himself from his chair just as the door opened; he gave a wry smile as he recognized Obereon's Aura. It had been quite a few decades since he had seen the scholarly spy.

"Nekael" Obereon greeted him shortly.

Nekael raised an eyebrow at his friend's abruptness.

"Obereon, it's a pleasure. Would you like a drink?" Abrupt or not, niceties had to be observed.

"Demon Lords, yes" Obereon groaned, looking intensely relieved at the prospect.

Nekael poured two glasses of a strong Demon-made alcohol, because every one knew that humans just couldn't make alcoholic drinks properly, and sat down across from the other slightly frazzled Demon.

"What has got you so upset?" He questioned, smirking slightly, it was both interesting and humorous seeing the normally relaxed and unflappable Obereon looking so stressed out about something and Nekael was curious as to what it was.

Obereon shook his head, looking thoroughly disgusted with himself.

"Perhaps something to do with your latest mission?" Nekael questioned. Obereon winced and glared into his drink, but said nothing. Nekael grinned widely.

"Maybe something to do with the humans?" He persisted, never one to be deterred from his chosen course. Obereon shot him a foul look, his bright blue eyes flashing dangerously. He decided to try a new tactic.

"Oh come on Obereon, we're friends. You can tell me." He grinned madly. Obereon managed to look even more disgusted.

Nekael chuckled, fine don't tell me then.

He paused.

"But don't come crying to me when you have to let the humans back into the wild."

Obereon banged his head on the table which resulted in Nekael laughing outright.

"You can't be serious, you like them?" Nekael was having trouble stopping laughing.

"I'll get over it" Obereon sounded like someone trying to tell you that they weren't addicted and could quit at anytime. The fact that he was still banging his head on the table didn't help.

"There there" Nekael chortled, petting Obereon on the shoulder, "But now you see what happens when you get involved"

"It was the easiest way to watch them" Obereon snapped.

"Easy yes, however now you want to keep them."

"Yes well, because of this, I need you to get involved too"

Nekael blinked, then glared at Obereon.

"No." He said flatly.

"It's rather important"

"No."

Obereon rubbed his temples.

"Normally I wouldn't try drag someone else into this, especially not when I have gotten so involved already, but..." Obereon sighed.

"Look at it this way Nekael, Eamon is tearing this place apart! He doesn't care for the land, only the throne. He's severing ties with the border countries, killing those commoners who can't afford tax... in a few years this land will be nothing, no crops, no trade..."

Obereon looked up at Nekael,

"No magic"

"He can't stop magic" Nekael protested stubbornly.

"He already is"

"He can't stop us." The other demon persisted.

"Be he will try" Obereon pointed out sharply. "He will find us, and he will fight us."

"Eamon will loose"

"No, the human race will loose. Eamon would lose innocent humans from his armies, but he himself would not loose."

"What does it matter to us?" Nekael demanded harshly.

Obereon slammed his fist onto the tabletop.

"Everything, damnit!"

Nekael blinked, then sneered.

"You are far more attached to them than is healthy, Obereon."

Obereon snarled and the temperature in the room dropped suddenly.

"We all need the humans much more than we care to acknowledge, Nekael." He stated coldly.

"Oh please." Nekael scoffed.

Now it was Obereon's turn to sneer.

"Fine then, but when there is no trade, and the borders are being torn at by other humans wanting to claim this land, and Eamon is slaughtering anyone who so much as twitches their fingers in possible spell-casting way, and we are exposed to the human race entirely with no where to turn, don't say you weren't warned." Obereon snapped.

Nekael shook his head, a disgusted look on his face.

"You are prone to exaggeration my friend" He admonished softly, though there was a troubled look in his eyes.

Obereon stared moodily into his drink, lost in thought. Suddenly he brightened up, a devious look on his face.

"What are you thinking?" Demanded Nekael, suddenly looking nervous.

"Hrm? Oh nothing, it's of no matter." Came the nonchalant reply.

The hair stood up on the back of Nekael's neck.

"Stop it!" He ordered; a hint of fear in his voice.

"Stop what?" Obereon asked with a laugh.

"Stop thinking!" Nekael replied somewhat hysterically.

"Oh come on!" Obereon laughed.

"When you think, dangerous things happen." Nekael spoke like someone warding off evil.

Obereon laughed outright, but gave no answer, he simply smirked.

"Oh no" Nekael moaned fearfully.

"I think I have an idea" Obereon confessed, his eyes alight with a mysterious and determined air.

"About what?" Nekael questioned against his better judgement.

"About how to get in, and as such, I better get going." Obereon finished his drink and hummed happily. "Thank you for your hospitality my old friend" He shook a stunned Nekael's hand and made to leave, then stopped, and turned looking thoughtful, "You might want to run some errands far away from the city, Nekael, for... safety reasons."

Nekael froze, a myriad of expressions crossing over his face, fear being the most prominent.

Obereon was almost out the door.

"Oh no... Wait, wait, wait!" Nekael yelled.

"Something the matter, Nekael?" Obereon questioned innocently.

"I'll take you to the city, just don't do whatever it is you're thinking of doing" He hurriedly said.

"I knew I could count on you!" Obereon cried cheerfully, clapping Nekael on the shoulder.

"You are an evil plotting lunatic." Nekael sighed.

"I'm offended, Nekael." Obereon pouted, leading the way out of Nekael's home.

"Besides I don't plot, I scheme."

------

Harry glanced sideways at Marcus who shrugged. True to their word they had refrained from moving the entire time Obereon had been gone, too scared by the demon's sudden change in manner to disobey. After only a few hours, their companion had returned with another demon in tow, brief interruptions had been made and they had been told that Nekael had a way into the city which would be unmonitored by Eamon and his men. Despite Tynan and Bryana's original scepticisms about this so called, secret way, Marcus had put his foot down, saying at this point in time they had no other way in, and that he trusted Obereon more than enough not to lead them astray, as should they.

However he seemed less sure of this now that they had been walking for some time. Because of the patrols they were forced to move slowly and occasionally throw up some very quick and weak wards to hide them from soldiers.

"Are we there yet?" Tynan snapped irritably, if softly from the back of the group. Harry hid a smirk, thinking of small muggle children on long car rides. Tynan was ignored.

Harry listened in on what the demons were saying.

"Thanks for agreeing to help, Nekael." Obereon was saying.

"I know that this is simply a manipulation to make me help you." Nekael grumbled.

"Then why help?" Obereon sounded smug.

"Because as much as I want to believe that this is simply you manipulating me, I still remember the temple incident"

"Well I did warn them" Obereon scoffed.

"You didn't give them anytime to respond."

"I gave them ample time to respond"

"You warned them about two seconds before you blew up the temple"

"Well it was the only other solution, and they didn't like the first option."

"They didn't like either!"

"That was their problem not mine"

"It's scary, what you do to find things out." Nekael shuddered.

"What can I say, I'm a scholar."

"Scholars are the scariest creatures on the planet" Nekael replied with feeling.

------

After several more hours of walking they reached a small farm, not too far away in the distance they could see the monstrous, intimidating walls which Marcus said surrounded the entire city. There was no sign of any patrols, neither past nor present. It seemed entirely untouched. Obereon and Nekeal who before had been so cautious about patrols, now seemed to relax somewhat, leading them out into the open. The others all traded a nervous glance. Tynan opened his mouth to say something, but was shushed by Obereon.

They lead the horses to the stable around the side, and then were stopped by the demons.

"Wait here" Ordered both demons at once.

"And don't move, got it." Marcus replied.

Both demons turned and stalked towards the old house, as they watched them, Harry couldn't help but smirk. Obereon was a full head shorter than Nekael, though he seemed to hold himself with a lot more authority than Nekael did.

The two reached the porch of the house, and knocked on the door, an older man answered and words appeared to be shared, there was much gesturing from the elderly gentleman and casual indeference from the two demons. Finally the man nodded and waved a hand towards the barn. As one the humans glanced over at it and shared a confused look. Marcus suddenly frowned and made a unique gesture, Harry recognised it as the motion Marcus made when he was doing slightly more complicated magic. He whistled softly under his breath. He interpreted Harry's look correctly,

"This place is so heavily warded I doubt we could have found it on our own." Marcus confessed softly. "There are a lot of very strong magics protecting this place."

"Don't stick your nose into it" Obereon warned Marcus, they had returned from the porch, the old man having gone back inside.

"Let's move" Obereon ordered, "and no complaining."

They were led to the barn where they entered by a small door slightly to the side of a much large double door. Inside it was dark, and smelt of old hay and grass. Once Harry's eyes adjusted he could see that there were no animals residing inside the building, nor tools or plough or anything similar to that, it was completely empty. Obereon walked unheeded to the far end of the barn, with Nekael by his side. Together they reached down and grabbed hold of something, then they hauled upwards. There was a creaking sound as whatever they held resisted and then a groan as a massive trap door was pulled upwards by the two demons.

"Get in" Ordered Obereon, "quickly"

"Are you kidding me" Tynan and Bryana demanded at the same time.

The fire was back in Obereon's eyes.

"In" He growled menacingly.

They all moved as one, climbing down through the trapdoor, revealing a long tunnel with faded into the darkness. Nekael and Obereon followed them down, shutting the trap door with a resounding _thud_, locking them in cold, pitch-black darkness.

------

**End Note: **Well here it is, finally. I hope it was worth the wait. The longest chapter I have ever written I believe. --grin--

Now I am tired and want to go to bed... and I know I am tired because I kept trying to call Obereon, Boewyn... --headdesk--


	11. Chapter 11

Dance of Death

**Dance of Death**

**Disclaimer: **I does not owns Harry Potter nor it's 'verse and so on and so forth.

**Authors Note: **I know I normally update Dance of Death and Servants of Wizards alternatively. But I felt like writing and updating Dance of Death. I'm the author so there :p

**Chapter Eleven**

The darkness was suffocating; it closed in tightly around them and smothered their senses. Harry couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, could barely hear the ragged breathing of his companions, and could hardly smell nor taste the musky damp air of the tunnel. The one thing Harry could feel however was the cold. It seeped in through his clothes and sunk deep into his skin, chilling his muscles and bones to the core. He felt as though his entire body had been encased in ice, preventing his escape and filling his mind with a feeling of hopelessness and foreboding.

An impressed whistle sounded behind him, though it felt like it had come from a great distance away.

"Impressed much?" Harry barely recognized Nekael's voice; the darkness sucked it in and warped it. Though he sounded smug.

"I knew this place was protected, but this is much more than I was expecting. Very nice." Obereon's reply was approving.

"What is this place?" Marcus asked, awed. His voice sounded somewhere to Harry's left.

"A secret escape route of sorts, or used to be. Not used as much these days." Neal replied idly.

"An escape route for what?" Tyenna's apprehensive voice came from somewhere in front and right of Harry.

There was a long silence.

"You probably don't want to know that." Oberon replied, his voice getting closer. A moment later Harry was pushed lightly aside. Losing his footing at the sudden movement, he fell sideways, connecting solidly with a wall. Harry couldn't suppress a shudder as his hand slid over the slimy, frozen barrier, going numb in seconds. Even when Harry pulled away and righted himself, his hand stayed immobile and unresponsive.

"Come on kids, let's move on" Obereon called, this time sounding distantly in front of them.

"Unless you want to stay alone in here" Obereon added with a gleeful and nasty tone to his voice then laughing coldly, a laugh which Nekael joined in on.

"Damn Demons" Tynan muttered darkly.

"Be nice, Sir Knight. We might decide to leave you in here anyway if you keep that kind of attitude up." Harry could practically hear Obereon smirking.

Together they stumbled and slid through the tunnel, their eyes never adjusting to the darkness, keeping them smothered in the black. Occasionally there was a yelp as one of the humans bumped into each other, or a wall or tripped over something hidden in the gloom. The demons on the other hand seemed to be having no problems with the ghastly tunnel. Laughing and joking together in a strange, yet oddly beautiful language. Their smothered footsteps remained steady and even, gaining more distance between themselves and the humans as they walked without hindrance.

"Can't we have some light in here!" Bryana finally snapped.

The footsteps up ahead stopped.

"You can try" Obereon suggested mildly, "I wouldn't recommend it though" He added cheerfully.

There was silence.

"Why not" Marcus asked cautiously. Harry had a feeling that the mage had been seconds from creating a light spell, as had he.

"Well…" Nekael started thoughtfully. "If you really want to face King Eamon and have a chance at defeating him, we wouldn't recommend it."

"What would happen" Harry questioned apprehensively.

"You can try find out if like" Both Demons replied, sounding almost eager.

"You know what? I'm fine in the dark" Bryana replied slowly.

"Excellent choice" Obereon praised. "I personally prefer the 'all limbs attached option' as well"

Harry shuddered again.

"Thanks for letting us know beforehand" Tynan muttered

"Where's the adventure in that? I'm not always gonna be here to hold your hand when you discover something new, Knight." Obereon admonished. "Learn to use your brain for once. It is there for a reason you know."

Harry waited for the Knight's retort, but it never came.

"There now, that was easy wasn't it? Congratulations."

"Be nice, Obie" Marcus replied wearily.

"Oh shush you. And keep an ear open, Demon Lords know what's down here" Obereon seemed to be having too much fun with their discomfort.

Harry couldn't stop the words: 'We're going to die' from running through his head.

It felt like they had been in the tunnel for hours, and Harry knew that his assumption wasn't far from the mark. Though it was made worse by the sheer effect whatever magic was in the tunnel had on them. Along with the suffocating and smothering dark and the bone-chilling cold and the slime came a weight which pressed down on their muscles, making each step harder to take. The humans were falling down more often, stumbling over their own feet as well as each other. The further they walked, the slower they got. The misery settled in after perhaps the first hour of travel, a feeling of utter and complete hopelessness and loss falling over the four. Unwelcome thoughts played over in Harry's head; that they were going to die in here, that Tynan had been right about Obereon all along and he truly was no good, that he was never going to see light again, that he would never get home, that even if they did escape they would be captured and killed. With each minute that passed where these thoughts ran over and over again, it got harder to take one more step. The sounds of the other breathing and walking, the sounds of the demons enthusiastic chatter did nothing to comfort Harry, and soon they became even more smothered in the darkness until all Harry could hear where his doubts. His whole body was numb, each step he took laboured, each breath drew in air as though it was a thick as mud and tasted just as foul, and all of it was accompanied by a voice in his mind, running over and over, everything he was afraid of, every doubt, every guilty thought, all of it. It was far worse than anything Harry had ever felt, even when faced with Dementors, or Death Eaters or even Voldemort himself, there had been a slither of hope shining somewhere. But here…

Nothing.

Harry was barely aware of the fact that he had stopped walking.

No light. No air. No sound. No sight.

No hope.

Harry dropped heavily to his knees, not feeling the pain that such an action would normally cause. He was barely aware that couldn't breathe, his head was pounding with horrific nightmares, and then the was the darkness. Drawing in even closer, wrapping him tightly in a blanket of death, smothering every last sound, every last thought…

Every last breath.

_Help!_

Darkness.

_Help me!_

Terror

_Please, somebody help!_

Hopeless

_Anybody? Please help me…_

Helpless

_I'm dying._

Weakness

_Help me._

Death.

…

_There._

Cold.

_A light!_

Hope

_A voice!_

"I didn't expect…"

_Help!_

"… they're coming…"

_Must reach…_

Falling.

_NO!_

Light flooded Harry's vision, causing him to see spots and stars. He gasped, drawing in a lungful of rich, fresh air even as he felt heat surrounding him. Warming him right through. Harry blinked to clear his vision, shocked that he was alive and could think clearly once more. What on earth had happened? He glanced around the room, revealing a large fireplace a few feet away, Marcus, Tynan and Bryana were all wrapped heavily in blankets like he was and voices reached his ears from the door to what must have been a connecting room. Judging by the tone of the speaker's voice, there was an argument going on.

"… completely mad! What made you think you could have got them through there safely?!" An unknown female voice was shouting.

"They're alive aren't they?! … Sort of." That was Obereon.

"You're lucky they made it as far as they did! They wouldn't 'sort of' be alive if they hadn't!"

"Oh come on, Caez! They're fine!"

"Fine?! That's your definition of fine?!" Harry got a feeling that 'Caez" was pointing towards the room in which the humans resided. "I admit that I would expect this kind of no-brained stunt from you, Obereon, but you too Nekael?"

"He threatened me!" Nekael protested defensively.

"Hey, Hey! You're the one who suggested it"

"You said you wanted a way! That's the only way!"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"You idiot." The female sighed resentfully.

"See, even Caez thinks you're an idiot"

"You're both idiots!"

"This wasn't my fault!" Both Obereon and Nekael shouted at the same time.

"Someone shut them up" Moaned a voice to Harry's left. Looking over he saw Marcus sitting up and holding his head in his hands.

"I agree" Bryana muttered from the far side of the room.

The door opened up admitting a woman with long golden hair and a ferocious expression on her face.

"Stupid half-brains… no idea what-so-ever… should be put down merciful… I'll do it myself if I have too…"

She looked up from her rant, her eyes falling on the rooms stirring occupants.

"Oh good, you're awake!" She genuinely looked pleased "About time, I was beginning to worry."

"What happened?" Marcus questioned. The woman shook her head looking disgusted.

"Those imbeciles…" she paused to throw a glare at the connecting door, "thought it would be a good idea to bring you through the escape tunnel to get you here."

Harry's memory flooded back. The darkness, the cold, the misery… He shuddered, fear ran through his mind, making him freeze up momentarily.

"It was horrible" Tynan whispered softly. Harry looked over at him, seeing a look on the brave Knight's face he had never seen before. Terror.

"What was that place?" Marcus asked, looking just as terrified as Tynan looked and Harry felt.

"The escape tunnel. It's a demon constructed way out and into the city should the need arise. It's made so that no-one but demons can find it, and any humans who do somehow get in there, don't get back out. A safety precaution if you will."

"Please tell me, that those two dimwits didn't know this and didn't try to kill us on purpose." Bryana's fear had been replaced by anger.

"Now now, Princess. That's not very nice."

Marcus pulled the blanket closer around himself, watching Obereon as he entered the room grinning at them.

"Did you know?" He questioned softly.

"Marcus, please! I'm a scholar and a genius! Not to mention I helped create the wards inside it. Of course I knew."

"Oh don't look so proud of yourself!" Snapped Caez, just as Tynan shouted,

"You knew? And you lead us through anyway!"

"I thought you were stronger than that. Guess I overestimated you waaay too much."

"You are such a jerk." Caez snapped coldly and stormed out of the room, Obereon blinked then followed her out.

"Hey! At least I'm an honest jerk! When I'm a jerk to someone I make sure they know I'm a jerk! None of this sneaky, behind the back jerk nonsense!"

"You can't deny that, Caez. You know he's right" They heard Nekael laugh.

"I hate them" Tynan muttered, lying back down again."  
"You and everyone else in existence" Caez was back, this time with a tray of several large steaming mugs, "even people who have never met them, hate them"

"I think I like you" Tynan stated. Caez gave him a radiant smile, and passed each of this a mug.

"Drink this, it'll help make you feel better."

Harry took a drink, tasting something he had never tasted before, though he knew he would happily drink it again if given the chance. It warmed him even further than the blankets and fire did and removed the last traces of fear from his mind.

"How did we get here?" Marcus questioned after taking his own sip of the hot beverage.

"After Obereon and Nekael realized that you weren't following them anymore they turned back and worked out what had happened. Luckily you were near the end, so they managed to get you here easily enough, not to mention quickly." She sighed, "They might be half-brained jokers a lot of the time, but they have their moments"

"How nice, Caez" Obereon noted, appearing back in the doorway. "I knew you loved me."

He had to duck to avoid a high-speed steel tray flying at his head with pinpoint accuracy.

"A bit of tough love perhaps" Obereon added thoughtfully, eying the tray now buried halfway into the wall behind him. "But love all the same."

Tynan opened his mouth, no doubt to shout at Obereon for nearly getting them killed, but Marcus interrupted.

"Drop it, Tynan. It's over, we're alive. I don't want to think about it anymore…"

Harry silently agreed as he took another deep drink.

"So we're inside the city then?" Marcus asked after making sure Tynan wasn't going to make any retorts.

"Safe and sound." Obereon replied smugly.

"Well as safe as a group of rebellious and wanted would be king assassins can be" added Nekael from behind Obereon.

"Right" Marcus muttered. "Then it's time to make some important decisions"

Obereon grinned humourlessly. "On with the show folks, it's time for the final act"

**End Note: **Tafe has been fairly dominating, that and my laziness and my gaming. Not a very good excuse I know, but it's all I have to offer.


End file.
